


In Knots

by WolfenM



Series: Princess Rampion [1]
Category: Disney Animated Fandoms, Disney Princesses, Rapunzel (Fairy Tale), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Companions, Character Study, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Meeting the Parents, Missing Scene, Original Character(s), Princes & Princesses, Redemption, Romance, Running Away, animal sidekicks, fairytale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 11:31:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3527783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfenM/pseuds/WolfenM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's time for Rapunzel -- or Princess Rampion, rather -- to go home ... but what will become of thief Eugene after that?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **DISCLAIMER:** Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Flynnigan Rider, Eugene Fitzherbert, Maximus the horse, Pascal the chameleon, Mother Gothel, the Captain of the Guard, the hook-handed thug, Vladimir, Attila, Bruiser, the king, and the queen, as they exist in the film Tangled, on which this story is based, ©/TM The Walt Disney Company. Used without permission. For entertainment purposes only; no profit is being made, and no infringement is intended.
> 
>  **Note:** This fic was originally posted at deviantART in January of 2011. It starts shortly before the end of the film.

Once upon a time — a day ago, really — Eugene would have wanted to be far, far away from a crying female, but now? Not even considering the fact that her tears had just saved his life, Eugene couldn't think of anywhere else he'd want to be then than at Rapunzel's side. Not long after Eugene and Rapunzel's first kiss, the enormity of what had happened — Gothel's betrayal and subsequent death — had, understandably, begun to sink in for Rapunzel. They sat there for a while as she cried, Eugene rocking her gently. In fact, Eugene was a bit shaken himself, what with having been dead for a minute or two, and probably needed her arms around him as much as she needed his around her. Carding his fingers through her soft, newly-shorn tresses had a calming effect on _both_ of them.  
  
Only when they suddenly heard Maximus whinnying did they finally relinquish their hold on each other, worried for their friend. Rushing to the window together, they saw the gelding being surrounded by the royal guard. Eugene, Rapunzel, and Pascal hurried down the hidden staircase to help the horse — only to find that, in the interim (and with a little help from the guards' own mounts), Max had thoroughly thrashed his former allies!  
  
" _Why_ , Maximus? How could you betray us like this?" the captain asked plaintively from under the warning hoof of his current steed.  
  
"Because he was helping me save a woman's _life_ ," Eugene snapped, pointing to Rapunzel. "If you just would have listened to me in the first place, you would have _known_ that!"  
  
"As if we had any reason to listen to you, much less _trust_ you!" the captain snorted skeptically at him before peering curiously at Rapunzel.  
  
"And what would lending me an ear have cost you?" Eugene asked angrily. "A minute of your time? You could still have hung me either way—" Eugene regretted those words as he heard Rapunzel gasp, hoping he didn't just hand her more fodder for nightmares that night, "—but _not_ listening nearly got an innocent girl killed!"  
  
"Bah!" the captain scoffed. "Innocent? I doubt it — she's probably your accomplice! Shall we string her up beside you?"  
  
Before Eugene could reply, Max whinnied angrily and came to stand protectively before Rapunzel. On her shoulder, Pascal smacked a fist threateningly into his palm.  
  
"It's okay, Max, Pascal," Rapunzel soothed, slipping past the horse and approaching the captain. "What I am to _him_ is his _girlfriend_ ," she replied, and Eugene's heart did a little flip. "But if I were you, I'd be more concerned with what I am to _everyone else_."  
  
"And what would _that_ be?" the captain chuckled, then gasped in pain as the horse holding him down apparently dug a hoof into his back. "A bounty?" he rasped.  
  
" _The lost princess!_ " Rapunzel hissed.  
  
The guardsmen all laughed, but Eugene felt like the world had just ended.  
  
Rapunzel hadn't told him that part, that Gothel wasn't really her mother — but then, she shouldn't have needed to. How hadn't he realised it himself? It made perfect sense! Rapunzel had the same birthday, was the same age, had been locked away from the world for almost two decades by the world's most overprotective mother. Except that wasn't actually the case, was it? The woman hadn't been a mother keeping her child from being exploited by the world. No, she'd been a thief hording a treasure, making sure no one ever found it!  
  
"Nice try. Everyone knows the princess was born with hair like sunlight," the captain pointed out.  
  
"And my hair _was_ blonde — until like half an hour ago," she casually informed him. "But if you don't believe me, why don't we go take it up with the king and queen?"  
  
"Rapunzel!" Eugene protested, terrified for her. If guardsmen were going to hang him just for stealing a crown (okay, and a few other things, but still), they would surely hang her for claiming to be royalty! He knew their type; they wouldn't even let her _near_ the king and queen to plead her case, wouldn't want to bother their sovereigns! "Look, there's no point in appealing to the guards here — it's your _parents_ that we need to prove things to!" he suggested. It was often said that parents instinctually knew their own children; Eugene just prayed that it was true, or else she was pretty much doomed.  
  
"Let's just leave these guys here," he suggested, "provided these nice horses don't mind keeping them underfoot for a while longer. Do you?" he addressed them. The equines all shook their heads. "So in like half an hour or so, our friends can run off and leave the guards travelling on foot. They'd never catch up to us then, even if we're both—" he saw Pascal turn an angry red on Rapunzel's shoulder and amended himself, "—er, all three riding Max. Is that all right with you?" he asked Max.  
  
Max nodded. Eugene gave him a heartfelt thank-you.  
  
The ex-thief then suggested to Rapunzel that she gather up any belongings that she wanted to keep, tossing anything that wasn't fragile out the window, so he could start packing. The first thing she tossed out was some food — bread and apples and the like. Eugene left much of that for both men and the horses, giving Max the choicest apples.  
  
"I noticed there's no sign of the old woman's remains," Eugene remarked lowly to the white gelding. "Did you take care of that?"  
  
Max nodded, then walked around the tower, beckoning for Eugene to follow. The horse led him to a bush; Eugene looked under it and found nothing but the woman's cloak, with a strange dust inside it. It occurred to Eugene then that the woman must have been reaaaaally old — and old things tended to turn to dust ....  
  
"Ew-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew!" He beat his hands together, like he was trying to get dirt off, then rubbed them in the grass for good measure.  
  
"Thanks for taking care of ... _that_ ," Eugene told Max, shuddering. He realised then that the poor horse had moved the dusty cloak with his teeth. "I hope those apples got that taste out of your mouth!"  
  
Eugene then started putting a bit of the food, and some other things Rapunzel had thrown out the window, into Max's saddle bags. When Rapunzel came back down with the last few, more fragile items, they quickly finished packing and got on their way, Eugene seated behind the girl and Pascal in his usual spot on her shoulder.  
  
Eugene's heart, already having started cracking when she'd revealed her heritage, broke more and more with each beat of Max's canter. Some of his sadness was for Rapunzel's sake, what with her having just learned that her whole life had been a lie. But soon she would see her _real_ mother — and her father, too. _And_ she was free. So really, his heartbreak was mostly for himself (and he wasn't proud of that, but there it was, all the same): he'd thought that they would run away together, but it was obvious now that such was never to be. His dream to be with her would end, unfulfilled, once they reached their destination.  
  
It almost didn't matter anymore that he was due to be hanged; the only way that it _did_ matter was in that Rapunzel would probably be heartbroken. Maybe he could convince someone to keep the knowledge of his demise from her, make her think he'd escaped and had abandoned her. Sure, her heart would be broken somehow, one way or another, but better that she be angry that he'd left than grieved that he'd died — he reckoned it would be easier for her to recover from the loss then. Even if, miracle of miracles, he was pardoned, he should still leave, and still make her believe that he didn't care for her after all. A rogue, reformed or otherwise, surely would never be allowed to marry a princess. Better that she hated him, so she could move on, wasn't eternally pining — even if _he_ was never able to move on himself.  
  
———;;—@  
  
Things went much more easily for them at the castle than he'd imagined it would — mostly because nearly all the guards had apparently gone off in search of Flynn Rider. It was hard for Eugene not to feel at least a little momentary pride at the notion that the guards had felt him to be so very dangerous that they reckoned they needed to use nearly their entire force to apprehend him!  But then he looked at Rapunzel and remembered that his criminal history _wasn't_ something to be proud of. He also found himself wishing there _had_ been more guards left behind, if only to slow him, Max, and Rapunzel up a bit, give him a few precious seconds more with the love of his life.  
  
His heart hammered in his chest as they walked toward one side of the double-staircase leading to the castle entry. They spotted a young guard standing at the top, obviously new to the post, and an elderly seneschal watching their approach with a wary eye. The latter told them to stay where they were, and began stepping down the stairs to greet them — if greeting was what it could be called with the man scowling at them so — with the younger presenting arms as he followed a half-step behind.  
  
"So _this_ was your plan," the seneschal mused. "Lure our men out and then double back? What, are the rest of _your_ men invisible?"  
  
The seneschal peered around them, as if thinking some hidden army might suddenly materialise; it was then that Eugene realised that the guards were out looking for other prisoners that must have escaped as well — and probably the thugs that had rescued him. Eugene hoped the others were all right! The seneschal's young companion followed the elder man's lead, eyes full of fear and uncertainty; doubtless the castle had called in the town militia, volunteers, and this kid was one of them.  
  
Rapunzel sat up straight in the saddle, shoulders back and head held high. "Why yes, they are invisible, actually," she insisted, adopting a lofty tone not unlike the one Eugene had used when telling stories of Flynnigan Rider years ago. She gestured to her shoulder; Pascal, who had made himself blend in with his surroundings, suddenly appeared there.  
  
The man's eyes narrowed, but it was quickly evident that it was the horse, not his riders, that the man was focusing on now. "And you, Maximus — I never would have believed this of you! Siding with brigands and sorcerers!"  
  
Eugene could see Max's mane bristle as the horse tossed his head, snorting and stomping his foot.  
  
"What's wrong with brigands and sorcerers?" Rapunzel demanded. "Most of the brigands I've met have been very nice!"  
  
"And what about you, sorceress?" the seneschal asked shrewdly. "Are you nice?"  
  
"No one said _she_ was a sorceress ...." Eugene cut in, squeezing Rapunzel's shoulder surreptitiously, hoping that she would understand — confessing to using magic wasn't usually a safe thing to do. "And I don't think Max appreciates your accusation, sir," he added, desperate to steer the conversation away from such a dangerous topic. "Especially since he's apparently the only one in the whole guard with an _entire brain_ in his skull! He hasn't betrayed you; he was acting on behalf of our princess here." Eugene pointed to Rapunzel, in front of him. "He's brought her back, after all these years, _and_ he's returned with your most-wanted criminal, and you want to _berate_ him?" Eugene shook his head, clucking in disapproval. "I'd quit, if I were in your horseshoes, buddy," he added, patting Max on the neck.  
  
Max nickered back, clearly in agreement.  
  
Looking at the seneschal again, Eugene wasn't sure the man had heard anything he'd said after "princess", the fellow's eyes seeming riveted to Rapunzel as he slowly approached, one hand reaching out tentatively. Then suddenly the old man gasped, covering his mouth with his hand, which had begun to shake. The seneschal dropped to one knee, eyes cast to the ground; the young guard quickly followed suit, though the lad clearly had no idea _why_ he was doing so.  
  
"Your Highness," the old man whispered, his eyes wet with tears and face lit with a smile as he turned it upwards again. "Welcome home."  
  
"Well, that's more like it," Rapunzel remarked, and Max snorted in assent.  
  
"But how did you _know_?" Eugene asked the man, befuddled. He'd fully expected her to be tested somehow, to have to, you know, actually _prove_ her claim!  
  
"My dear boy, I have been seneschal here since before the princess was born!" the man explained. "I saw her often when she was just an infant; I could _never_ forget those eyes."  
  
Well, that made sense. Eugene was never going to forget those eyes either, however long he lived; they would probably haunt him even in death, an eternal reminder of the only woman he had ever truly loved.  
  
"Come, come!" the seneschal demanded, rising to his feet and beckoning for them to follow. "It's well past time you were reunited with your parents!"  
  
"Just a minute," Rapunzel demanded, making no move to dismount. "Do you solemnly swear that no harm will come to Max or to Eugene here?"  
  
"I swear it on my life, Your Grace," the seneschal promised, bowing. "I'll even see to it myself that Max gets all the apples he can eat tonight!"  
  
Max could barely contain his glee, it seemed, the horse doing a little dance beneath them. Eugene, meanwhile, went through a runaway cart-ride of emotion. There was elation that he wasn't going to be hanged, but he quickly sobered as he realised that this simply meant that he would get to spend a lifetime away from her, a fate which sounded just as bad. Then he grew wary; what if this was all a trick to lull them into a false sense of security? What if there really were more guards left, and this man didn't really believe that Rapunzel was the princess at all?  
  
But of course Rapunzel was too naive, too trusting for her own good — she'd shown that by trusting Eugene in the first place. (And Maximus was apparently too easily tempted by apples.)  
  
Then again, Rapunzel had a way of getting people to obey her will — probably thanks to her inner princess. And things had worked out well, on the whole, for her of late; hopefully the Fates would keep smiling on her. They owed her a boatload of back-happy, after all.  
  
———;;—@  
  
The seneschal — whose name was Gregory — certainly had an eye for the dramatic! Perhaps that was why this kingdom was so known for the beauty of its celebrations, of which this Gregory fellow was doubtless the overseer. Case in point, it wasn't enough for the seneschal to just take Rapunzel directly to see her parents. No, instead of bringing her and Eugene inside, the man had told the young guard to go fetch the king and queen, then led the princess to a curve in the rail at the center of balcony, just outside the door to the main hall. Eugene would have stood off to the side with Max, but the seneschal shoved him over to stand with Rapunzel.  
  
"This is where your parents stood every year on the anniversary of your birthday and released a lantern, in the hopes that it would guide you home," he'd revealed with a flourish, quite the showman.  
  
"And it did," Rapunzel had whispered, tears in her eyes as she'd run her fingers softly across the rail.  
  
Gregory had nodded, obviously pleased that she understood his purpose in bringing her there, how being there was like this year's lantern had indeed brought her back itself, a gesture to her parents for their unwavering faith that she would return.  
  
Melodramatic though it arguably was, Eugene had found himself liking the man's style, if for no other reason than that this arrangement had given him a little more precious time to memorise Rapunzel's face, with her new hair, and to hold her hand as they looked out on the glorious city below.  
  
Even so, it was over all too soon, the doors to the great hall opening. Rapunzel nearly crushed his fingers in her excitement, but he didn't care, didn't want to let her go.  
  
He did, though. He wasn't the selfish man he'd once been, wouldn't hold her captive, the way Gothel had. And seeing the joy in her parent's eyes as they took her in their arms, a sense of peace washed over him. He'd promised to bring her home, and he had. And as much as it hurt, it also felt _wonderful_.  
  
When the queen reached out to him, eyes brimming with gratitude, he thought she just wanted to shake his hand in thanks. He wondered then if she knew he was due for a hanging, wondered if she'd seen his wanted posters and, if she had, had recognised him. Quite possibly not: the posters typically didn't look a thing like him. Unless the young guard told her that her daughter had been accompanied by a man with a sizable bounty on his head, the queen probably just thought he was some nice young man who'd helped her daughter come home. Feeling like a liar — and for the first time in his life, feeling like a heel for it — he gingerly took the queen's hand, expecting it to be delicate ....  
  
She had a grip like iron.  
  
And she apparently didn't want just a handshake, either. The next thing Eugene knew, he was being pulled into a group-hug, the king and queen's arms enveloping him along with their daughter. For a moment, he was drowning in their overpowering happiness; he enjoyed every second, knowing that he would never feel this way, like he was where he belonged, part of a family, again. For a moment, he pretended that the arm slung around his shoulders so familiarly was the father's arm he'd never known, his own dad having been killed in battle when he was an infant.  He pretended that the slender hand on his back belonged to the mother he barely remembered. And when the hug was over, he pretended he was fine, that he wasn't on the verge of tears, and his heart wasn't splintering like a table at the Ugly Duckling in a brawl.  
  
"Have you eaten? Let's go sit inside," the king suggested. "My knees aren't what they used to be."  
  
Eugene smiled but held his chuckle in check, uncertain if it was all right to laugh at royalty. After getting to his feet, he held out a hand and helped the king up, noting that, whatever the man hinted about his age, his grip was strong. That made Eugene happy; the man looked greyed for his age, but was in good enough health that Rapunzel would probably have many long years with her father yet.  
  
As they made their way to the door, he glanced at Max, standing with the seneschal, and thought maybe he should beg off, stay with the horse, but Max motioned for him to go on, stay with Rapunzel. Eugene wondered then where Pascal had gone off to, but a long glance at Rapunzel's shoulder revealed that the chameleon was still there, just having gone into stealth mode. Eugene found himself envious of the lizard, wishing that he could disappear himself.  
  
———;;—@  
  
The king and queen led them to their private dining room, the queen insisting on Eugene taking her free arm as her daughter took the other, with the king on Rapunzel's right. As they walked, Eugene felt just as trapped as he had in his cell. He had tried to excuse himself, suggesting he leave them to get better acquainted, but Rapunzel's parents would have none of that, insisting that he had to be their guest.  
  
So what was he to do now? Apparently Gregory had meant what he'd said about bringing no harm to Eugene, and hadn't been trying to trap them, but that didn't change the fact that there wasn't a place for Eugene at Rapunzel's side. It also didn't mean that his welcome couldn't be rescinded when, if it was true that the king and queen didn't currently know who he was, they later learned his identity.  
  
But how to leave? Especially when he didn't really _want_ to, just knew that he _should_. Would he even have the strength, when the time came?  
  
He hadn't eaten since the night before, but he could only pick at his food as Rapunzel began her story; this waiting for the other shoe to drop had robbed him of his appetite.  
  
He was only mildly amused when Pascal finally made himself known to her parents, startling them so much that they each let out a rather un-regal squeal (which was followed by a lot of fawning and expressions of amazement over the little lizard and his talents).  
  
As the story went on, Eugene couldn't bring himself to meet her parent's eyes as Rapunzel revealed the nature of their first meeting, how he had climbed up her tower (aka, breaking and entering), and how she had made that deal with him in exchange for the contents of his satchel. She didn't bother to say what was _in_ the satchel, but surely they could guess that he'd been up to no good. Why else would he have gone to such lengths to get into a tower not his own if he hadn't been on the run?  
  
But her parents said nothing, not even when Rapunzel got to the part where the thugs at the Ugly Duckling threatened to turn her new friend in for a bounty and she had to beg them to let her keep her guide. They would gasp and make remarks here and there on Rapunzel's narrative, but nothing along the lines of "Oh, you're _that guy?_ Off with his head!" Instead of relaxing, though, Eugene grew more and more tense the closer Rapunzel got to the end, dreading having to finally face the music.  
  
Except that, before she reached the end, she said something that made him forget everything — both his fear of what fate had in store for him and his resolve to leave her thinking he didn't really care for her:  
  
"And so he took the satchel, and I waited for him to come back, but ... well, he didn't, and so I ... I thought Mo— _Gothel_ was right about him."  
  
He snapped to attention then, meeting her eyes, seeing the pain and uncertainty there. He knew he had to fix this, couldn't let her believe that he would do that to her (no matter how much it would suit his purposes to let her think so), couldn't bear to have her look at him as if he had. Most importantly, he couldn't let her believe that anything Gothel had ever said could possibly be right; if he did, those words would haunt her, make her doubt her own worth, for the rest of her life. He couldn't let Gothel take anything more from her.  
  
"She _wasn't_ right," he insisted, taking her hand in both of his. "I swear to you, I had every intention of coming back—"  
  
"Then why did you go off in that boat?" Rapunzel interrupted, and he couldn't tell if she was angry or pleading with him to give her a reasonable explanation. Probably both — and he couldn't blame her for the former, for doubting him. It was a miracle she'd trusted him as far as she had! He'd even warned her that it was a bad idea to do so, hadn't he?  
  
"I didn't—" he tried to protest.  
  
"You did! I saw you at the wheel of that boat as you—" she choked, "—floated away!" He heard what she really meant beneath that: _abandoned me_.  
  
He struggled to keep his fury at Gothel — and himself — out of his voice, lest Rapunzel mistake it for anger towards her. "That's because the Stabbington Brothers hit me over the head, tied me to the mast of that boat, and tied my hands to the wheel," he explained as calmly as he could manage, genuinely contrite. He hadn't informed her at the time of what he was planning because he'd been afraid that she would insist on coming with, and he feared for her safety around the brothers. But despite his good intentions, he'd put her in danger anyway. If he'd taken the crown back to the _castle_ , where it belonged, she would have known without a doubt that he wanted to change — and she'd still have her hair. Ending up in the hangman's noose would have been worth it. "I woke up like that when the guards found and captured me."  
  
"It's true, Your Grace," Gregory confirmed, approaching the table; Eugene wondered how long the seneschal had been standing there, listening. "Captain Armbruster confided that he was rather perplexed by it — we wondered who had done us the favour of catching the infamous Flynn Rider without seeking the reward! And then we found the Stabbington Brothers on the shore, unconscious, and thought we must certainly have a hero in our midst."  
  
"My mo—Gothel clobbered the brothers," Rapunzel revealed. "I thought she was saving me, but ...."  
  
"The brothers told me that she's the one who told them about your hair," Eugene growled, stomach turning at the thought of anyone considering the harridan a hero. "So she planned it all, even put you in _danger_ , just so she could convince you that you were better off with her."  
  
"And I fell for it," Rapunzel replied, looking as ill as Eugene felt. Before he could assure her that Gothel was a master manipulator, though, one anyone would have fallen under the wordspell of, Rapunzel spoke on, her face a mix of confusion, anguish — and something that he prayed was hope. (He couldn't be sure, having so little experience with the emotion himself.)  "But ... what did you leave for, then, if it wasn't to run away with the crown?" she asked.  
  
"Crown?" the king asked.  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'm the one who stole it," Eugene confessed, feeling an invisible noose around his neck. He hurried with his story for Rapunzel, hoping the king would let him finish, knowing he would never get another chance to explain himself to Rapunzel otherwise. "I saw the Stabbington Brothers on the shore, and ... well, after what you said when you _gave_ me the satchel, I realised that I didn't want it anymore. I was going to give it to the twins, then come back to you with a clean slate, so to speak."  
  
"Why didn't you just _tell_ me that?"  
  
What could he say? If he told her he'd been afraid for her, she'd blame herself again. A second later, though, he didn't need to worry about it anymore.  
  
"My hair," she gasped, reaching for her shorn locks. "You were afraid they knew about my hair; you were just trying to keep me _safe_ ," she cried, throwing her arms around him and burying her face against his chest. Well, that wasn't exactly what he'd been worried about, but it was close enough. The truth of what he thought the brothers might want with her was too grisly for polite company. "I'm so sorry, Eugene," she apologised, her words muffled by his vest.  
  
"Hey, you have _nothing_ to apologise for," he insisted gently, resting a cheek against the top of her head, smoothing her pixie-mane with one hand and rubbing soothing circles on her back with the other. Half of him worked to memorise the warmth, the peace he felt while in her arms, while the other struggled to ignore it, fearing he'd never be able to leave otherwise. The second half, miraculously, won out when a flash of light glinting off the king's sun pendant caught his eye, distracting him. "In fact ... Your Majesties, I owe _you_ both an apology for taking the crown. I know that doesn't make up for what I've done, but I owe you that all the same."  
  
"My boy, did my daughter not just call you 'Eugene'?" the king asked, a strange gleam in his eye.  
  
"Er ... yes?"  
  
"Well, then. I happen to know that the crown was stolen by Flynn Ryder; I've seen the posters, and I can say with certainty that you are _not him_." That gleam and the king's knowing smile suggested otherwise, especially as they were mirrored in the queen's face, but Eugene wasn't about to argue. "Still, if it makes you feel better ...." The King turned to his seneschal. "Gregory, see to it that Flynn Ryder — and any aliases he may go by, such as Eugene Fitzherbert — is given a full pardon for all crimes."  
  
Eugene most certainly did not swoon. He did almost fall, though, when Rapunzel left his side to throw her arms around her father. He shivered a little at the sudden cold, and tried not to let himself get any ideas: just because he was no longer a wanted man didn't suddenly make him a prince.  
  
He stood, then got down on one knee, eyes cast to the floor. His eyes stung with gratitude, his thanks sticking in his throat. "Sir, I ... I don't know what ... thank y..."  
  
The king and queen chuckled. He looked up and found them smiling benevolently at him, while Rapunzel beamed. Two things struck him then: The first was how much Rapunzel resembled both of her parents, especially her mother. No wonder Gregory had been so certain of her identity! The second was that Rapunzel seemed to glow now even without her magic hair or her song. Not the same way as before, maybe — which was better, because now her parents need never worry about her being kidnapped for her power ever again. But she was his shining light, all the same.  
  
How could he go back to the dark after knowing the sun?  
  
"Speaking of names," the queen started suddenly.  
  
Rapunzel looked at her with an eagerness Eugene has come to adore, her desperate hunger to _know_ things.  
  
"What's my name?" Rapunzel asked at just the same moment as her mother asked, "What's your name?"  
  
"Rapunzel," the princess answered, just as the queen replied, "Rampion."  
  
Eugene found himself exchanging a glance with the king. "Uh ... isn't a rapunzel a _type_ of rampion?" He regretted the question the moment it left his lips. Had he just insulted Their Majesties? So much for his pardon ....  
  
The king nodded, looking a bit rueful. "And a rampion is a root vegetable, sort of like a radish or turnip."  
  
"It's a bellflower, too," the queen sniffed, crossing her arms. Her shoulder's quickly sagged. "Truth be told, _we_ didn't name her, though. It's a custom of the kingdom for a royal child to be named by the people, through a lottery, and since it was an enchanted rampion flower that saved both myself and my unborn child, apparently many subjects submitted Rampion as their choice."  
  
"At least I'm not actually _named_ Radish, right?" Rapunzel-Rampion offered brightly.  
  
"Well, your father did _call_ you his 'little radish'," the queen revealed with a fond smirk.  
  
The king replied with just a sheepish smile and a shrug.  
  
"I think it's sweet," Rapunzel told her father, kissing him on the cheek. "So long as it's just a _nickname_ ," she then clarified, giving Eugene a shrewd look.  
  
"I didn't say anything!" he protested with a laugh.  
  
"But if you want to call me Rampion, I'm sure I can get used to it," she told her parents.  
  
The king and queen exchanged smiles before the queen assured their daughter, "And if you want to be called Rapunzel, we can get used to that."  
  
"Here's an idea," Eugene suggested, "how about you say whatever comes naturally? Someone asks the princess what her name is, she can say Rapunzel. You want to call her by a name, you can call her Rampion. Or Radish, or even Turnip," he added with a grin.  
  
"Or Blondie?" Rapunzel asked impishly.  
  
"Yeah, I guess that one doesn't really work anymore," Eugene admitted.  
  
"Well, it works just fine for me," she replied, coming back over and hugging him from behind.  
  
He felt a warmth wash over him, one that reminded him all too much of the feel of her healing magic — and what he had cost her by cutting her hair. He put on a brave smile, but the considering looks that the king and queen and seneschal were giving him suggested that it wasn't all that convincing. Thankfully Rapunzel couldn't see his face, couldn't see his discomfort — he didn't want to bring her down on what was probably the happiest day of her life ....  
  
Rapunzel sat back down, guiding Eugene to sit beside her, refusing to let go of his hand. He couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. "Hey! What are _your_ names?" she asked her parents.  
  
The queen and king glanced at each other in surprise; Eugene could tell they were masking their dismay when they turned back. He couldn't blame them; it wasn't just that Rapunzel didn't know, but that it drove home just how sequestered she must have been to have never heard the names of the local rulers.  
  
"I'm Linfred," the king informed her, "and your mother is Amalswint."  
  
Well, apparently Rapunzel was in good company in the "unusual names" department ....  
  
"But I call her Mallie, and she calls me Fred," Linfred added.  
  
"And what do your names mean?" Rapunzel asked eagerly, gripping EUgene's hand even tighter in her excitement, her skin warm as a sunbeam.  
  
The king and queen chuckled. "Linfred means 'gentle peace' — when I was born, our kingdom was at war, so the people named me for what they wished most for," the king explained.  
  
Eugene thought it suited the man, with his kind, caring eyes and soft-spokeness.  
  
"And my name means 'hard worker'," the queen revealed.  
  
Eugene supposed the queen could very well be a hard worker in _some_ fashion, but he wouldn't wager it had anything to do with field labour. He wondered if her own kingdom, whatever one she'd been born to, had the same naming custom as this one ....  
  
"So what does 'Eugene' mean?" Rapunzel asked him.  
  
"Uh ... I'm not sure," he lied.  
  
"Noble," Mallie replied, smiling.  
  
His mother had had some lofty ideals, it seemed ....  
  
"An apt name!" Rapunzel declared, grinning.  
  
Eugene blushed and ducked his head. Given his life's path, he'd beg to differ.  
  
"Aye, there's nothing more noble than giving your life for another," Linfred agreed.  
  
Eugene looked up and found the King's eyes full of gratitude, much like the queen's had been on the balcony. At least, he _thought_ that was what it was; it'd been a long time since he'd lived the sort of life that prompted thank-yous. He tried to think of a response, but he didn't really want to remind them of his shady past, nor could he think of an argument against their reasoning for calling him noble. He _had_ risked his life for Rapunzel, and would do it again, in a heartbeat; he just couldn't wrap his head around that fact! It had been years since he'd looked out for anyone but himself, over a decade since he'd put anyone else's needs before his own. The fact that she _had_ been able to get him to do that suggested to him that Rapunzel was going to make one hell of a leader someday!  
  
Speaking of which ....  
  
"Well, Rapunzel was the noble one, willing to throw her life away to save me first — I just followed her example." He shrugged as he spoke, rubbing his neck.  
  
"And he's modest, too," Mallie remarked in a stage whisper to her husband, with a sly smile. "We're proud of _both_ of you," she added, looking at Rapunzel and Eugene each in turn, reaching out to take their free hands and squeeze them once.  
  
Warmth swelled over Eugene's skin again, making him shiver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The junior novelisation states that the kingdom was already abuzz with Rapunzel's return as she and Eugene made their way to the castle because the thugs have big mouths. This makes no sense (unless they met with Rapunzel and Eugene in the forest and then raced on ahead), as only Rapunzel and Gothel knew she was the missing princess. Also, I can't imagine that the gaurdsmen didn't go chasing Flynn down like in the beginning of the film. I suppose it's a longshot that they found the tower, but as Eugene and Maximus wouldn't have been trying to hide their trail, and Eugene had stumbled upon the tower by accident in the first place, I figure it's reasonable to assume that the guards either followed the trail of Maximus or stumbled across the entrance themselves.
> 
> The king, queen, captain of the guard, and the guardsman who informed the king & queen of Rapunzel's arrival were not, you may recall, given names in the film, so I chose those myself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eugene can't really stay, can he? But his plans to leave may not go according to ... well, _plan_.

So began a long evening of a thousand questions. Eugene found himself paying as rapt attention to both sides as each paid the other, craving every bit of knowledge about the family that he could glean — against his better judgement, like a child who can't stop eating the sweets he knows will give him a stomachache later. Except heartache was so very much worse than a stomachache, wasn't it?  
  
As the night wore on, though, some of the questions were directed towards him. He'd always been reluctant to share the details of his life, afraid it would make him seem weak or pathetic, but Rapunzel had started drawing Eugene out of his "Flynn Rider"-shell on their journey together; apparently it was a talent she'd inherited from both of her parents. And so they learned that Flynn's father had been a soldier, and that his mother, doing various menial tasks to make ends meet, had gotten ill and died when he was a small boy. He'd grown up in the orphanage, but once he'd reached the age of sixteen, he'd had to leave, to make way for younger orphans.   
  
"I'd actually had a job since I was fourteen," Eugene continued, "mucking stables and cleaning rooms and tables at a hostelry, but ... well, I didn't get along with the owner's son. A few months after I'd left the orphanage, the son and I got into a fight, and I got fired. I'd been staying there after the orphanage, so I lost my space in the stable, too, and because some things got damaged in the fight, the owner decided to keep the last of my pay. I didn't think that was fair, seeing his son attacked me, so the owner and I had a shouting match, right there in the dining room, in front of some guests."  
  
Now was the moment of truth. Eugene hated to admit what he was about to, but then again, they already knew he was a thief.  He wasn't sure what he wanted more: to test his pardon and discover it sound, or to have it rescinded and be arrested again. The latter option would kill him — maybe even _get_ him killed, _literally_ — but then he'd already tried to give his life for Rapunzel anyway. And it was better for her; if she were disgusted enough to write him off, then she'd have no trouble saying goodbye ....   
  
Okay, so maybe he _did_ know what he wanted more. Taking a deep breath and bracing himself, he went on with his tale.   
  
"After the bouncer kicked me out, one of the patrons approached me — with my own purse in his hand! He introduced himself as Reynard—"  
  
The king and queen gasped. Eugene wasn't surprised; the man had been infamous. Just thinking about Reynard gave him the chills — and not in a good way.  
  
"Oh, so you've heard of him," Eugene commented dryly. "I wish I hadn't, but if wishes were horses, beggars would all have steeds like Maximus."  
  
"So who is he?" Rapunzel asked, glancing back and forth between her parents and Eugene.  
  
"One of the most renowned thieves to ever live," Mallie breathed, awed.  
  
"We're lucky to never have been visited by him," Linfred agreed.  
  
"You have no idea how right you are," Eugene agreed, though he'd wager they _had_ been. "So where was I? Oh, yes, yes, my purse, right. He gave it back, commenting on its lightness and the fact that I'd just lost my job, asking if I would be at all interested in his line of work. I told him I wasn't interested in being a cut-purse. He—"  
  
"You weren't?" Rapunzel asked, looking confused.  
  
"What changed your mind?" the queen added, seeming puzzled.  
  
Eugene blinked, equally lost. "Did you think I _am_ a cut-purse?" he asked in turn, hurt.  
  
"You aren't?" all three of his companions asked in tandem.  
  
"No!" Eugene insisted. "Look, the way I see it, money is what a guy — and his family, if he has one — lives on, right? A fellow dressed in finery with a big fat purse on him could actually be dressed in the _only_ good clothes he has, and have his life savings on him — for all I know, in the hopes of enticing a doctor to save his kid from a terrible illness. So no, I've never been a cut-purse. I mean, I _could_ have been one, don't get me wrong — I'm very good at slight-of-hand. But no, I steal—er, stole! I stole _objects_ , things like jewelry and art, and sold _them_. And yes, sometimes I stole that stuff on the street, so I guess you could call me a pick-pocket in that respect, but I never stole purses. Well, okay, I did _con_ people out of money sometimes," he asdmitted, "but only when I was sure they had it to spare."  
  
"All right, then," the king nodded, seeming oddly satisfied. "Carry on."  
  
Wary, expecting the metaphorical other shoe to drop (literally as an axe on his neck), Eugene did as he was commanded. "Well, when I turned him down, Reynard replied that he had his eye on a much bigger crime than stealing purses, but he needed help to pull it off — and if I helped him, I'd get a measure of revenge on the innkeeper who'd fired me.  
  
"Turned out, though, what Reynard had _really_ wanted was a patsy, someone to get caught in his stead. I wasn't the only guy he picked for the role, either — he figured the more idiots there were around during the crime, the better the odds that he wouldn't be the one caught. The lot of us — five, including Reynard and myself  — broke into the innkeeper's personal rooms. I managed to filch a few things, and on the way out, I found Reynard cornered. Figuring he was my boss, and not realising that I was a fall guy, I attacked the guards from behind, kept one of them from gutting him, then helped him escape.  
  
"He confessed his original intent for me, how he'd thought me nothing more than a decoy, then told me he'd misjudged me, that I had potential. He said he would take me on as his apprentice — for a percentage of my loot, of course, until I had completed my training. And as young, desperate, and naive as I was, I took him up on his offer. We travelled together for about three years, until he got himself caught."  
  
"Caught? The legendary Reynard?!" Linfred exclaimed, disbelieving. It was understandable; one would think the capture of such a man would have been a story for the ages.  
  
"Yes, well, Reynard was _normally_ a great thief, but he had something of a drinking problem, you see, and it only got worse as the years rolled on," Eugene explained. "While we were at sea, he stole the captain's rum, and the captain threw him overboard. Thankfully, they figured Reynard was just a thirsty drunk, not a master thief; they had no reason to be suspicious of me, so they let me stay aboard. As for Reynard ... I figured I'd learned all he had to teach me by then and, to be honest, I never much liked the guy. I was tired of sharing all my loot with him, and I think he would have stuck a knife in my back at any moment it suited him to, so ... yeah, I didn't go save him, and I have no idea if he survived or not. The boat docked here, and the rest of my life until now is probably detailed in Captain Armbruster's reports, in one way or another.  
  
"And now that I've reminded you of my crimes ... are you _sure_ about that pardon?"  
  
"Eugene!" Rapunzel gasped, grabbing his arm in a grip much like her mother's. "Of _course_ they are — you saved my life! You brought me _home!_ "  
  
Until this moment, seeing her defending him despite knowing his history, Eugene had thought that he couldn't love her — or hate himself — any more than he already did. This was _not_ good. No matter how good of a liar he was, he could never say that he didn't love her. It was a physical impossibility. So how was she supposed to forget about him now ...?  
  
"You know, my having saved your life is debatable," he told her honestly. "I don't doubt you could have made it to see the lights on your own, much less discovered the truth about yourself. And you probably never would have wound up recaptured by Gothel if not for me and my association with the Stabbington Brothers."  
  
"There's no point in ruminating in what-ifs," Linfred chided gently, waving a hand dismissively. "Regardless of what might have been, the point is that you put our daughter's future before your own life. Besides, my boy, what do you think the purpose of punishment is? Revenge? No. So what, then?"  
  
"Uh ... a-a deterrant?"  
  
"Exactly. And have you any intention of going back to your thieving ways?"  
  
"No," Eugene answered firmly.  
  
"Consider yourself officially deterred, then," Mallie jumped in. "It would be poor gratitude on our part to incarcerate you or worse after you risked your life for Rapunzel and helped our child to return to us. What incentive would anyone have to rescue someone if they risked capture for past deeds in the process? Seems to me that _saving_ lives is far more important than _ending_ them."  
  
Her husband nodded in agreement. Not knowing what to say, Eugene simply nodded as well.  
  
He then looked to Rapunzel and found her yawning, which spurred a yawn of his own. He realised then that the light in the room was different; someone (probably Gregory) had lit candles in the chandelier above. A glance out the window revealed only black. He wondered how late it was.  
  
"You poor dears; you must be exhausted!" Mallie remarked.  
  
"Yeah, I should get going," Eugene agreed, getting to his feet, glad for the reprieve.  
  
"Come, come; let's get you both settled for the night, shall we?" Mallie suggested.  
  
The queen rose and reached for Eugene's hand, snaring it. Linfred quickly followed suit, taking hold of his daughter's.  
  
"Oh, no, no, that's okay — I wouldn't want to impose!" Eugene replied, waving a hand in refusal; he would have waved _both_ hands, but the other was locked in the Queen's astonishingly firm grip.  
  
"Dear boy, I'm the one imposing on _you_ — you _will_ stay. That's an order," she added with a wink before dragging him towards the door.  
  
"From both of us!" Rapunzel chimed in cheerfully.  
  
Linfred chuckled. "I find it's best just to obey," he recommended.   
  
Eugene had thought that Rapunzel had learned how to coax people into doing what she wanted from Gothel, but now he wondered if it wasn't just a girl thing in general ....  
  
———;;—@  
  
Eugene had long believed that nothing could be better than living in the lap of luxury. Yet here he was, lying in the fancy bed he'd been given for the night ... and unable to sleep a wink. He felt too out of place here, like the furnishings were whispering to him that he was unworthy to use them. It didn't help that his future was more uncertain than ever. How long did the royal family expect him to stay here?  
  
Conversely, how long before he overstayed his welcome?  
  
Eugene was almost completely certain that the king and queen _knew_ that he and Rapunzel were in love, but even after having given him a pardon, how could they, in good conscience, do anything to encourage that love, even indirectly? How could they keep the current object of Rapunzel's affection around? Surely they would want the best possible match, for both Rapunzel's sake and that of their kingdom? Someone like a prince, one whose kingdom would make a valuable ally? Wasn't that always the fate of royalty? Oh, he didn't believe they would force Rapunzel to marry someone she couldn't love, but surely there was a prince out there _somewhere_ who was worthy of her affections? Or at least a lovable lord? Someone with at least a bit of a pedigree?  
  
Besides, the idea of twiddling his fingers around the castle seemed a lot like stealing. Good men didn't mooch, right? Good men did an honest day's work. And an honest day's work would get him out of the castle for a day.  
  
Maybe even _more_ than a day.  
  
And just like that, Eugene felt at ease, having made a choice. Having taken his life back into his own hands, a state of being he'd long preferred. He could suddenly sleep in that fancy bed for the few hours left of the night, knowing that he would be leaving it behind soon.  
  
———;;—@  
  
Besides an enormous pile of food — breads, cheeses, and fruit — Eugene was happy to find his old clothes washed and waiting for him in the morning. He ignored the fancier outfits laid out beside them, feeling more like himself in the familiar garments. He was thankful that king and queen seemed to recognise and respect that he might prefer his old clothes rather than just having them tossed onto the scrap-pile. Or maybe it was more than that: maybe letting him choose his old clothes was their way of giving him an out, letting him leave without making themselves look bad in their daughter's eyes by _asking_ him to go.  
  
Yes, that was probably it. And as such, he would make it a clean break, leave without a goodbye, so he didn't have to see the hurt in Rapunzel's eyes (nor risk her shattering his resolve to go). He didn't need to say thanks — dinner and a night's lodging was their own thanks to him, right? For bringing Rapunzel back? So they were even-steven, as far as he saw it.  
  
He was surprised how easy it was to leave the all the finery — not just the clothes, but the castle itself. He didn't even give his lush surroundings a second glance on his way out. Not that it was easy to go, but the hardship of his departure had nothing to do with depriving his greedy nature, and _everything_ to do with leaving his heart behind. Did that make him a zombie? Because he certainly _felt_ like the walking dead.  
  
As he stepped out through the massive entry to the castle, he met with an obstacle to his chosen course: Maximus. The horse cocked his head at him, then flicked it at the castle, looking at Eugene with puzzled eyes.  
  
"What, did you think Rapunzel and I would be joined at the hip? I have something to do, and so I figured I'd let her enjoy a morning alone with her folks," he explained, shrugging, then continuing on his way.  
  
Max started to follow. Sighing, Eugene stopped and pulled out a paper with a royal signature seal on it: a proclamation of his pardon. He'd found it with his old clothes; planning maniac that the man was, Gregory must have figured that Eugene might want to leave the castle for one reason or other — and in doing so, would risk running across someone who might want to claim the former bounty on him.  
  
"See? I'm a free man." Eugene tucked the document back into his vest and went on his way.  
  
Max hurried around him, blocking his path.  
  
"What? I'm not going to go break any laws, if that's what you think," he told the horse.  
  
He couldn't read the look Max gave him, so he just stepped around the animal.  
  
Max cut him off again, this time bowing and gesturing to his saddle. Apparently he wanted to give Eugene a lift — but that wouldn't do, because then the horse could later lead Rapunzel to wherever Eugene went! Which, it occurred to Eugene, was probably exactly what the horse intended. Well, the joke was on the horse, because Eugene hadn't decided where to go yet! All he knew was that he needed to find work, earn a little money before getting on a boat headed somewhere far away.  
  
Wait a minute ....  
  
Eugene suddenly had a notion that would kill two birds with one stone. It wouldn't matter if Max knew where he was going if he went to work _on a boat!_ Rapunzel would never catch him, once the ship left ....  
  
"You're offering me a lift?"  
  
Max nodded.  
  
"Well thanks, pal!" He hopped into the saddle. "I'm headed to the docks."  
  
Max shot him a wary glance. Uh-oh. He'd forgotten that the horse was probably the smartest individual he knew. Luckily, Eugene was pretty talented at dissemination. Granted, he didn't like the notion of setting foot on that path, the road of the con man, again, but at least this time it was for someone else's sake: Rapunzel's. That made it all right, didn't it?   
  
"I'm going down there to look for work," he told the horse. "I can't just stay here and mooch off Rapunzel's folks, right?"  
  
Max seemed to mull that over.  
  
"And I've helped unload cargo before." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole of his intent, either. Yes, ship bosons sometimes hired extra people to help them unload old cargo and load new goods quickly, but Eugene planned on being more than a short-term employee. Reynard had him work off their passage on a few ships as a sort of agility training, what with all the climbing ropes and swinging around to be done. True, Eugene had _hated_ the work, but that didn't mean he wasn't _good_ at it.  
  
Max had apparently accepted his explanation, though, and started down the road. Eugene tried to persuade himself that he hadn't just started the journey to his new life on the wrong foot — but was withholding truth really so very different from lying?  
  
———;;—@  
  
Along the way down the twisting streets of the town, Eugene noted that a lot of the banners from the celebration of Rapunzel's birthday were still up, two days later, and it struck him as odd. Then he noted some shopkeepers putting _more_ banners up, and it hit him like a tonne of bricks: people hadn't been too lazy to take the birthday celebrations down, they were putting them back up to celebrate Rapunzel's arrival! The people had missed and wished for the safe return of their princess probably almost as much as her parents had! And they didn't even know her, really; he knew that, when they did, when she stopped being a symbol and became a person to them, they'd love her even _more_. Considering the outpouring of love they had tirelessly displayed on her birthday every year for eighteen years, the thought was almost frightening.  
  
"Hey! Isn't that the guy?" he heard someone exclaim; he and Max turned their heads towards the sound and discovered someone pointing at Eugene whilst holding a piece of paper in his hand — a wanted poster, most likely.  
  
Max took off like a shot, and Eugene was mightily grateful. Though he had that pardon on him, really, he wasn't eager to put that piece of paper to the test. Thankfully, Max kept up his speed all the way to the docks, where the transient sailors were less likely to know Flynn Rider.  
  
Dismounting, Eugene patted the horse in the neck and gave him the apple he'd packed for lunch, then set off in search of a job.   
  
———;;—@  
  
The work was so much worse than Eugene remembered it. He hadn't had to do so much heavy lifting in a long while. It didn't help that he hadn't slept well, so he was a bit dead on his feet, too. Still, he was determined to please the boson and get hired on for the voyage, so he persevered without complaint. And as the ship's hold grew closer and closer to empty — and therefore that much closer to being filled again, which in turn was closer to sailing away — he discovered the satisfaction that came with hard labour, knowing one was drawing ever nearer to one's goal.  
  
He had even almost convinced himself that he actually _wanted_ to go.  
  
Soon they were down to the last crate, one so large that it required three men using a pulley to lift it over the rail of the boat, to the dock. They'd just gotten it swung over the spot where they were to lower it, when the second man holding the rope kicked the first man in the backside, claiming that the first guy wasn't pulling his weight. The first man let go of the rope, his fist flying into the second guy's face, causing the second guy to then let go of the rope. The guys had been bickering and insulting each other all day, and now it was finally developing into a brawl. They tumbled off to the side, just in time for Eugene to stumble forward a few feet with the sudden loss of the other supporters.  
  
Eugene managed to stop, but only for a moment. He soon found himself sliding forward, until his feet met the side of the boat. He straightened his knees and pulled with all his might, arms and legs trembling under the strain, muscles on fire. He looked to where the crate was supposed to land, thinking to maybe just let the thing fall — and saw a little girl run after a ball, then stop, right in that spot!  
  
"Kid! Kid, move!" he cried, but his voice was lost in the noise of the docks, the cries of gulls and the boisterous working shanties of sailors on the boats all around them. "Help! _Help me!_ " he demanded of his shipmates, but the rest of the men were absorbed in either the task of loading new cargo into the hold or in stopping the brawl, oblivious to any other situation.  
  
Sweat covered every inch of him, including his hands. It poured down his brow, stinging his eyes. Though he'd wrapped the rope around his arms, his grip weakened; the rope began to slide across his skin and slip through his fingers, rubbing his flesh raw, burning him. Soon the rope was slick with not just sweat but blood. He grit his teeth against the agony, cries of pain leaking through.  
  
His knees finally gave out, and he flew upward. He managed to snag the rail with one foot, but he knew that neither his foot nor his hands could withstand the pull of the crate for long. He tried yelling again — and this time, someone heard him.  
  
He laughed in gratitude and relief as Maximus swept in, grabbing the child by the back of her dress and carrying her to safety.  
  
Just then, there was a loud crack; either the railing had broken or his foot had — he really couldn't tell at that point. Flying quickly upward, he let go of the rope just before his hands would have collided with the pulley. He fell awkwardly over the rail, into the water, his shoulder feeling like it had collided with the ground as it smacked the liquid surface. The (likely filthy) water stung his raw hands, and he gasped, taking in water. His feet touched the bottom of the lake, and he propelled himself skyward, just barely managing to keep from crying out again as bolts of pain shot through his legs. He ignored the excruciating discomfort as he kicked his feet and clawed the water, making his way to the surface. His lungs joined the rest of his body in feeling like they were on fire.  
  
It felt like years before he finally broke through the barrier between water and sky. He sputtered as his lungs tried to both expel water and inhale air. He struggled just to stay aloft, exhaustion and the lake conspiring together to draw him into black oblivion.  
  
And then, suddenly, he was flying through the air — even as he also suddenly felt as though he weighed a thousand pounds, what with all the water in his clothes! As he blurrily watched the water recede beneath him, he noted belatedly that his vest and shirt were tugging annoyingly under his arms. Then the world swam about, trading water for clouds for a moment before he connected soundly with the wood of the dock, knocking both wind and water from his lungs. He sputtered and wretched for a bit longer, trying to expel more of the latter while intaking more of the former.  
  
"Well that's a relief! I was afraid we would have to do CPR," a familiar scratchy voice commented.  
  
Eugene blinked water and sun out of his eyes and discovered the hook-handed guy from the Ugly Duckling at his side.  
  
"Thanks, uh *cough* ... I'm sorry, I don't think I ever *cough* caught your name ...." Eugene croaked.  
  
"It's Hans. And that's Vladimir, Attila, and Bruiser," he added, pointing across Eugene to three other thugs, two to his left and one at his feet.  
  
"Ceramic unicorns," Eugene recalled, pointing to Vladimir, "cupcakes—" he pointed to Attila "— and knitting, right?" Bruiser nodded.  
  
"I went to the castle to try out as a court musician," Hans revealed, "but it turns out that they're waiting for a new piano, and the ship carrying it came in today. My pals here were coming to help me bring it up to the castle, when we saw you cryin' fer help. The horsie saved the girl, thankfully — we got to the edge of the dock just as you fell in, so the boys lowered me over and I snagged ya with my hook." Hans raised the appendage for emphasis.  
  
"Thanks. If the pianist thing doesn't work out, maybe you can take up fishing," Eugene suggested.  
  
"I hate fish," Hans replied.  
  
"To be honest, so do I," Eugene confessed, his head swimming and his whole body becoming one big throb of pain, capped with nausea for good measure. He prayed he didn't lose his admittedly small lunch, thinking that emptying the contents of his stomach on these guys' furry boots would be a poor thank-you for their having fished him out of the drink.   
  
Just then, a fuzzy white cloud came into view — then sharpened into the muzzle, neck, and mane of Maximus, standing to the left of his head.  
  
"Heeeey, buddy!" Eugene greeted him weakly. "Good job saving that kid!"  
  
Max nickered, nudging Eugene's cheek with his nose, looking concerned. Eugene reached up to pat the gelding's nose reassuringly — or rather, he tried to. He could barely lift his hand, much less his whole arm, his entire body protesting the movement. He felt the dock shudder beneath him, first faintly, then more insistently; something was approaching. He saw Max perk up warily, glancing to the side, and the thugs follow suit. Eugene managed to convince his neck to swivel in the direction of their stares.  
  
It was the boson.  
  
"Robert!" Hans exclaimed. "We came to pick up a piano for the castle!"  
  
"You know him?" Eugene asked.  
  
"Oh yeah," Hans confirmed. "I know a lot o' the guys around here — I told the seneschal guy at the castle that when he said their new piano was due in today. I asked the name of the ship, and told him I knew it. So where is the piano, Bob?"  
  
The boson towards the crate Eugene had struggled to keep in the air, the bottom of which was horrifically splintered from its impact with the dock.  
  
Poor Hans looked crestfallen. Eugene felt bad for his part of the accident, even if it was really the fault of his coworkers.  
  
"Sorry about that," Eugene told Hans, chagrined. "A-and thank you for your help with Rapunzel — she's safe now!" he added.  
  
"We know," Hans told him. "Everybody does!"  
  
"Huh?" Eugene said intelligently.  
  
"It's all over the kingdom, how you saved her from that old hag and was almost killed in the process," Hans revealed. "And how ya got a pardon outta it — congratulations! But Rapunzel herself told us all about it — we met her in the square today. She said you were back at the palace, restin' ...." Hans eyed Eugene suspiciously.  
  
"She did? Uh, maybe she didn't want people to mob me down here ...."  
  
"Oh, I guess Gregory sent us here to help ya get the piano, then!" Hans looked at Eugene's hands. "Eh, don't worry about, we'll handle it. Let's get to it, boys," he told his companions, and they went to check out the crate.   
  
The boson knelt to the right of Eugene's head. "Sorry you got left in the lurch on deck — I had my hands full with those two idjits. You okay? Anything broken?"  
  
"No, and no," Eugene replied. "Well, okay, my skin's broken; does that count?" he asked, turning up his palms. While everything hurt, the ravaged skin there, and the wounds snaking around his arms, hurt the most, throbbing and burning. It made him want to cry like a little girl.  
  
Speaking of which .... "Well, you and this horse of your really save our crew's bacon by savin' that kid," the boson commented. Eugene couldn't help but think that the boson wasn't really all that concerned about the welfare of the child, only how her death would have been bad for business. "So there's a bonus in here for you," the man continued, dropping a small, chinkling bag next to Eugene's head. "It's the pay those two blockheads forfeited — I _told_ them no fighting! Sorry you won't be able to come with us now," he added, gesturing to Eugene's arms. "I mean, you're a great worker! You come see us next time we dock here, if your hands are healed, yeah?" And with that, the boson left, without even trying to help him up.  
  
"Well, he's a charmer, isn't he?" Eugene remarked to Max.  
  
The horse seemed to chuckle before nuzzling him worriedly again. Eugene recovered enough to raise his hand and stroke the horse's nose gingerly, feeling a certain fondness for the steed now. "So, you been keepin' an eye on me all day or somethin'?"  
  
Max nodded and lipped Eugene's sopping wet hair, prompting the ex-thief to chuckle.  
  
Then a thought occurred to Eugene. "Are you saying that you're _my_ friend, too?" he asked, staring up at the horse in astonishment. "I mean ... that you're ... you're _not_ here just for Rapunzel's sake?"  
  
The horse huffed, rolling his eyes, then nodded vigorously. Well, apparently being considered a friend didn't preclude being considered an idiot. Not that Eugene would know, since Rapunzel was the first friend he'd had in a very long time.  
  
Eugene felt a stinging in his eyes and a sudden trail of wetness along his cheek, and told himself that it was just water from his hair.  
  
Bracing himself against the threat of pain, he tried to sit up, but his back wouldn't cooperate. Now that he had stopped moving after a long day of heavy lifting, and after having fallen into cold water, he was really stiffening up!  
  
Max lay down on his belly beside Eugene, saddle-side up.  
  
"Thanks, buddy," Eugene told him, rolling gingerly onto his stomach. He carefully picked up the coin purse the boson had left for him, sticking it into his shirt, then struggled clumsily into the saddle, trying to avoid touching anything more with his hands but failing miserably. As it was, he couldn't hold the reins or even straighten himself up once in the saddle, so after holding on for dear life — and biting his lip against screaming — as Max got to his feet (hooves?), Eugene just rest heavily against the gelding's neck, letting his arms dangle and praying that he wouldn't fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hook-handed thug was not named in the film, so I chose the name Hans. This was long before _Frozen_. XD
> 
> A boson is the second-in-command on a ship, and typically handles the organisation of the crew.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owie ....

Eugene wasn't sure when exactly he'd drifted to sleep, but the next thing he knew, he felt the sensation of falling and simultaneously being jerked groggily awake — only to find that he wasn't really falling at all. Instead, several someones were carefully pulling him out of the saddle and lowering him to the ground.  
  
"Be mindful of his hands!" a gentle voice commanded; Linfred's, he realised after a moment.  
  
Eugene suddenly found himself hoisted into the air again, and understood then that he was being borne in a litter. The world slowly came into focus; he lifted his head and saw the castle looming just ahead.  
  
"I'm back," he said, unsure of how he felt about it.  
  
"Yes, Maximus returned you safe and ... well, moderately sound," the king confirmed, walking beside the litter.  
  
"Where's Rapunzel?" Eugene wondered, equally unsure if he wanted to see her or not.  
  
"Out shopping with her mother," Linfred informed him. "We discovered you missing before she woke up. When she did wake, we told her that you were still sleeping, and she agreed it was best to let you rest."  
  
Eugene tried to decipher the king's tone — was it full of anger, worry, disdain? — but couldn't. The king didn't speak again for a while, either, so there were no more clues.  
  
———;;—@  
  
Back in his room, Eugene saw a folding screen with fresh clothes draped over it. When the litter-bearers carried him behind it, he had a guess as to what was about to happen; when three men arrived — a doctor and two attendants — he was sure of it. One attendant bore a washbasin, sponge, and bar of soap, the other a large, steaming jug of what was surely hot water. The doctor carried a bag that, by the sound of it, held glass jars.  
  
"Uh, thanks, guys, but I can wash and dress myself."  
  
The doctor sighed. "Oh really?"  
  
He smacked Eugene on the arm; of course Eugene couldn't help but scream. He swore he heard Linfred stifle a chuckle on the other side of the screen, and suddenly was less fond of the king.  
  
"Whatever happened to 'do no harm'?!" Eugene snapped.  
  
"Young man," the doctor began in a decidedly no-nonsense tone, "this is all part and parcel with our jobs; you will certainly not be the first we have seen naked, nor will you likely be the last. Even the king knows better than to argue with me over health versus dignity. So don't fuss, and your personal humiliation will be at a minimum," the doctor promised. " _We_ certainly don't care about nudity, after all."  
  
Eugene sighed in resignation and let the attendants do their job. He had to admit, they were good at their work, getting him undressed, cleaned up, and redressed in a simple, short-sleeved nightshirt with a minimum of additional pain. They helped him to his feet, and he haltingly made his way to the bed. The king waited patiently in a chair next to it while the attendants helped Eugene in and arranged the blankets loosely over him. With the aid of one of the attendants, the doctor began applying a salve to Eugene's wounds and wrapping them with strips of linen. The other attendant rubbed a balm that pleasantly burned and smelled of cinnamon into his back, shoulders, upper arms, and legs.  
  
"You're moving like an old man, boy! What else hurts? How did you get like this?" the doctor asked as he worked.  
  
Eugene told them about what had happened at the docks — including how Max had saved the child. "He deserves another bushel of apples all to himself," Eugene suggested, only half kidding.  
  
"Well, I dare say you could use some of those apples yourself," the doctor mused, before launching into a list of things Eugene needed to do (and not do) to recover, caring not just for the rope burns, but bruised and over-stretched muscles as well, possibly even a sprain or two. The man placed a cup, then three jars on the nightstand, next to the washbasin. One jar was made of metal, containing willow bark and other herbs, for a tea to numb the pain. One was made of glass, containing more of the salve for the burns. The last was a clay jar full of the cinnamon balm for the hurt muscles. Eugene wished he could put the latter on his forearms, hands, and fingers as well, the muscles beneath the burns being sore ....  
  
"Thank you, Marcoh," Linfred told the doctor. "We'll make sure that he takes his medicine."  
  
Marcoh nodded and left, the attendants trailing behind him like ducklings. The king turned back to Eugene, who found himself wishing the doctor was still there, maybe even the attendants as well. You could never have enough witnesses ....  
  
"What were you doing working on the ship in the first place?" Linfred asked, sounding truly puzzled and possibly even a little hurt. "We can provide anything you need here ...."  
  
"Except redemption," Eugene quipped.  
  
"But you already have that!" the king protested. "We pardoned you—"  
  
"I appreciate your hospitality, Your Highness," Eugene cut him off, "but a pardon only means that you _forgive_ what I've done, not that I'm suddenly a good person. I aim to earn my keep — and to do it honestly."  
  
The king looked impressed; Eugene wasn't sure he deserved it, but it made him feel good all the same. "Well, I commend you for your desire to turn your life around, and to do it yourself," Linfred told him. "But all the same, I wish you had come to me first, rather than sneaking off like that. I actually had a job in mind for you already, as my personal secretary!"  
  
Eugene blinked. He just didn't get it! Why was everyone — Linfred, Mallie, Gregory, even Max — trying to keep him around? It really seemed as though they were trying to _encourage_ him to be with Rapunzel! Did they think he just thought of her as a friend, and vice versa? Were they really that clueless? "You want me to _stay_ here? For the long term?"  
  
It was the king's turn to be puzzled, apparently. "Well, if you don't like the castle, accommodations can be found elsewhere, of course, but it really would be more convenient for me if my personal secretary stayed here."  
  
"But ... why are you giving me this job in the first place?" Eugene asked.  
  
"I thought you wanted one!"  
  
"I do, but—"  
  
"Well, _I_ need a new secretary, so what's the problem?"  
  
"I-I don't know the first thing about being one, for starters!"  
  
Linfred shrugged. "I'd have to train whomever I hired. Don't worry, it's not difficult," the king added encouragingly.  
  
"But why would you want to put your daughter through that?" Eugene asked, exasperated, just as Linfred said, at the same time, "It would be very educational for you, good practise."  
  
The two men stared at each other as their words sank in.  
  
"Good practise for what ...?" Eugene asked, perplexed and wary.  
  
A smile crept across the king's face, and he nodded slowly. The smile made the hair on the back of Eugene's neck stand on end.  
  
"My boy, what do you know about the war into which I was born?" Linfred asked.  
  
"Uh ... not much; this isn't my home kingdom ...." Eugene replied.  
  
"Well, this kingdom and a neighboring one had always been a bit at odds, little border disputes and the like, but everyone had hoped that all that would end when my father eventually married the princess of that realm, after having been betrothed to her for a decade or so. Unfortunately, when he finally _met_ that princess, he found her to be a spoiled, snobbish brat. At every turn, she put down this land and the people in it, making it seem as though she were committing a great sacrifice and doing us a gigantic favour in marrying my father. The final straw, though, was when she called the governess of my father's sisters, a girl my father had known well and secretly loved for several years, a little idiot, all because the young woman had refused to wait on her, as if she were her own personal handmaiden and not carrying out the important task of caring for young two princesses who couldn't yet care for themselves.  
  
"' _You_ are the little idiot,' my father spat at her. 'Elise would make a far better queen. She has a kind heart and, if how she has raised my sisters is any indication, she is a great leader.' And he turned to Elise then and there and asked for her hand.  
  
"The father of the slighted princess declared war on us for the offence, amongst other disputes that had built up over the years, but my grandfather stood by my father's proposal, saying that he would much rather see a woman who was proven to possess queenly qualities, and whom his son actually loved, have the throne than someone who was considered royalty by way of an accident of blood but acted in a manner most unbecoming a queen. The kingdom too, by and large, stood by their prince's choice. My grandfather, a widower, died soon after the war began, and so my father and his new wife took the throne.   
  
"Now, my mother, shortly after my birth, inspired by the name the people had chosen for me, reached out in a letter to the older queen, mother to the princess my father had been betrothed to. My mother impressed the other woman, and through their growing friendship, a new allegiance was born between the two kingdoms, one made all the stronger because it was based on a loving friendship rather than a loveless marriage. And since then, though my father had siblings and so did I, that is how our kingdom has made allegiances: through friendship, rather than the marriage bed. Further, being a ruler who was once a peasant brings that ruler and their subjects closer together, I think."  
  
Realisation dawned on Eugene. "Amalswint — 'hard worker' — she's—"  
  
"A farmer's daughter," Linfred confirmed. "My father took me touring the kingdom often, even had me work in the fields, so I could gain an appreciation of our subjects. Mallie's farm was my favourite, and I would ask to stay there now and then, sometimes for months at a time. When her father would come by the castle, he would bring her with, teaching her about economics along the way. When she was old enough, and it was clear that we had intentions of marrying, my mother took Amalswint on as her handmaiden, so that she could teach by example things that a queen ought to know."  
  
Eugene felt like he'd been hit by a frying pan again. Was this really happening? "A-and now you ... are you ...?"  
  
"Grooming you to be Rapunzel's Prince Consort?" Linfred chuckled. "Well, it's pretty clear, watching you two, that you have strong feelings for one another. Not that you're under some sort of obligation, mind," he added quickly. "I just figure it couldn't hurt to prepare you. Even if you two decide you aren't right for each other after all, I'm sure what you learn as my secretary will serve you wherever you go — and it will put honest coin in your pocket."  
  
Eugene's heart raced, like hope was its fuel and now it was brimming with it. Being with Rapunzel wasn't a lost cause? "But ... I-I'm a ..."  
  
"A thief? Did you think Mallie and I had forgotten?" Linfred smiled. "More importantly, do you think we care? We believe that you've given that life up. You've proven there's goodness in you with how you've helped our daughter — especially in how you were willing to let yourself perish for the sake of her freedom. If we didn't believe that you could be a good man for the rest of your days, we would have had you strung up rather than pardoned." The king winked, smirking. "All that matters to us is that you treat our daughter like the most precious thing on Earth — and the kingdom and its people as the second-most."   
  
"I think I can do that," Eugene rasped over the lump forming in his throat, trying to blink away the blur forming.  
  
He was free to love Rapunzel openly. Moreover, _she_ was free to love _him_ — and for now, judging by what she said to him in the tower, she did. Their dream was to be with each other, and now it could come true, for as long as that was what she wanted.  
  
All that was left to do was make sure he was always worthy of her affection, give her no reason to fall _out_ of love with him .... And just like that, suddenly he had something new to worry about. Rapunzel had had very little experience in the world yet. Sure, Eugene was handsome and daring, but what if that wasn't enough?  
  
 _Stop it!_ he told himself. He had a chance now, and he wouldn't waste his time fretting or feeling sorry for himself. If a king and queen and princess could believe in him, then how could he do any less?  
  
"Hellooo-oooo?" came a very welcome voice then, muffled, from the hall. A moment later the door was cracked open, and a fancy shoe slipped through, wriggling, tormenting him. Finally, the owner of both voice and foot peered through. "What do you think?" Rapunzel beamed at him. "My very first pair of shoes _ever_!" She danced in a few steps, then stopped, hands on hips. "Did you sleep _all day?_ " she laughed.  
  
Then her eyes fell on his now-well-wrapped hands, and all joy left her cheeks, taking the lovely rose colour with it. "What _happened??_ " she wailed, hurrying over to him and plopping down on the bed. The motion sent a shockwave of dull pain through him, but he didn't care; it was worth any agony to be near her. He just wished he hadn't upset her, and tried to smother the part of him that was enjoying her concern.  
  
Rapunzel made to reach for his hands, but apparently thought better of it. He cursed the men on the boat who'd put him in such a position that he couldn't hold hands with her — then remembered that he probably would have gone off on that boat if not for the injury, sailed away and never saw her again, and he thanked the sun above for the pair and their fight.  
  
"Eugene was out being a hero," Linfred revealed to his wife and daughter.  
  
" _Again?_ " asked Mallie as she came into the room, a little breathless. Eugene smiled fondly; he knew how exhausting keeping up with Rapunzel could be. "That's all well and good for you to care for the welfare of others, young man, but if you insist on constantly putting yourself in harm's way, can we at least persuade you to do it in a suit of armour?" Mallie asked, smiling fondly at him.  
  
He rubbed his neck sheepishly -- or tried to, anyway. Glaring at the uncooperative appendages, he agreed, "That's probably not a bad idea."  
  
"I don't suppose you'd care to fill us in, Daddy?" Rapunzel asked her father.  
  
Eugene saw the joy that lit the man's eyes with the question, finally able to tell his daughter a story after all these years, and so Eugene didn't try to stop the man in an effort to stave off embarassment. Amazingly, while Linfred didn't lie about anything, the king did manage to tell the story in such a way that it came out sounding like a tale of Flynnigan Rider.  
  
"Oh, poor Eugene!" Rapunzel cried, throwing her arms around him and squeezing him tight. Despite his best effort to the contrary, a small whimper escaped his lips, and she jumped back, apologising. As much as it had hurt, though, he kind of wished she hadn't let go.  
  
"It wasn't like _I_ did anything," he hedged. "I mean, what was I supposed to do, let her get crushed? _Maximus_ was the real hero — he's the one who saved the girl. And Hans and his friends saved _me_. In fact, they're the also ones who helped Max break me out of prison, so I could save Rapunzel!"  
  
The king raised a brow at that. "And you say he and his friends were the ones who brought our piano to us?"  
  
Uh-oh. Eugene would have smacked himself if his hands were in better shape — did he just serve Hans and the others a jail sentence?  
  
"Well, that settles it — the pianist job is his, whether he can play well or not!" Linfred decided. "We'll have to come up with ways to thank his friends, too. In fact, let's make that your first duty as my secretary," he told Eugene.  
  
"Yes sir," Eugene replied, relieved.  
  
"You don't have to worry about that now, though," the king added. "Enjoy the time off and heal up. Besides, we're going to be celebrating our daughter's return all week!"   
  
"The celebration's off to a good start, too," Mallie revealed. "I'd just meant to buy her some new clothes, but we ended up travelling over half the island, to all sorts of shops! Everyone wanted to give her a homecoming/belated birthday present," she laughed. "I had to declare that no one could give her more than one present, that they had to let me pay if she wanted more than one thing, and that the gift, if they insisted on giving one — and they all did — could only be the least expensive item she chose. Even with those stipulations, we still received so much that if tomorrow turns out the same way, when we visit the other half of town, I have no idea where we'll put it all!" Mallie shook her head affectionately at her people's generosity.  
  
"Sorry," Rapunzel apologised, biting her lip. "I guess I went a little overboard at the bookstore — I've only ever had a few books before."  
  
Mallie hugged her daughter tight. "There's nothing to be sorry for, dear. We'd always hoped you'd be a reader!"  
  
"If you love books that well, wait until you see the Royal Library," her father added, smiling broadly. "I've lost many a day in there."  
  
"Oh! That's the one open to the public, right? Eugene took me there — it's _amazing!_ " Rapunzel agreed, grinning.  
  
The king glanced back and forth between his daughter and Eugene, giving them a considering look. "Well, Mallie, dear, we should see how the preparations for tonight's dinner party are going," he suggested. Eugene understood that Linfred meant for him and Rapunzel to have some time alone together, and gave the king a grateful look; Linfred nodded with a wink, then offered his arm to Mallie.  
  
"Oh, but don't you think we should cancel that?" the queen replied, shooting Eugene a concerned look. "We were going to have a party in both her honour and yours,"she explained to Eugene, "but we can wait till you're healed ...."   
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Eugene caught Rapunzel looking a little crestfallen; he wagered she must have been looking forward all day to her first big dinner party. Eugene couldn't bear the thought of Rapunzel missing out on anything more — she'd already missed out on 18 years' worth of parties, of socialising, of _life_ ....  
  
"No, don't do that!" he pleaded. "I mean, sitting here, sitting at a table — what's the difference?" He was going to be in agony no matter where he was, after all, so there was no point in disappointing everyone else, especially not his girl.  
  
"You're sure?" Mallie asked, laying a hand gently on his wrapped arm — a test, obviously.  
  
He managed to keep his scream of pain locked up tight, along with his tears. "Absolutely," he promised, perhaps just a tiny bit too cheerfully to be true.  
  
She gave him a rueful smile that said he passed her test, even if he hadn't actually _fooled_ her. She kissed his brow. "We'll send someone along in an hour or so to help you change."  
  
"Okay," he nodded, quailing inside at the thought of trying to maneuvre through more sleeves, or even pant-legs.  
  
"Alone at last" Eugene sighed. Then he remembered something. "Oh, except for Pascal, of course!" He looked to Rapunzel's shoulder, waiting for the lizard to reappear.  
  
"Nah, he's in my room, taking a nap," Rapunzel informed him.  
  
"Oh, that's too bad," Eugene lied.  
  
"Isn't it, though?" Rapunzel agreed, the look in her eye and her sly smile saying she was onto him.  
  
"So, did you have fun today?" Eugene asked.  
  
Rapunzel grinned. "Yup! My feet are a little sore, though," she admitted.  
  
"Well, all the walking you've done the past few says, no wonder! But your shoes are very pretty," he told her, trying not to think of _why_ these were her first pair, how she'd never had shoes because she'd never needed them in her tower -- and, doubtless, because not having them was meant to be a deterrent to her ever leaving that wretched building.  
  
He glanced at his hands, wishing he could rub her feet for her.  
  
When he looked up at her again, he found her staring at his hands, twining a finger in her short locks, looking miserable. He felt a stab of guilt nearly as painful as the stab Gothel had given him. In a way, cutting her hair like that, he'd violated her, even if he'd only done it to save her.  
  
"Hey!" Rapunzel suddenly perked up. "My tears worked once! Maybe I can—"  
  
"No!" Eugene said firmly, cursing inwardly when she shrank back, hurt in her eyes. "Rapunzel, I appreciate you saving my life, I really do, but if your tears can _still_ heal, if that wasn't the last time ... well, I'd rather not know. I'd rather _no one_ knew. I don't want anyone to try to steal you away for your power again!"  
  
She smiled contritely. "You're right. I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be. It's not your fault that there are such greedy, selfish people in the world," he assured her. "For that matter, I'm sorry I cut your hair against your wishes. I guess I was selfish myself, in that I couldn't bear the thought of you losing your freedom because of me."  
  
She brushed the hair from his brow, cupping his cheek. "That wasn't your fault either; it was Gothel's. _She_ put us into that position."  
  
He nodded. Then a thought occurred to him. An _alarming_ thought. "Hans told me that you told everyone about what happened in the tower — did that story include how you used your tears to heal me?"  
  
"Uh ... well, yeah — I mean, I told them how Gothel kept me prisoner because of my hair, and how she stabbed you when you tried to rescue me, and how you cut my hair before I could heal you ... but you _lived_ , of course, and they wanted to know _how_."  
  
He resisted the urge to hit the bed in frustration only because his hand was sore enough already. Then that gave him an idea. He laughed; perhaps the fates were kind in their own, twisted way. He held up his arms. "So we make sure the kingdom knows about these injuries — we don't need to say how I got it, we'll just say there was an accident. I ham up how much pain I'm in—" which actually would be a matter of him no longer _downplaying_ his pain "— and the whole kingdom will believe your power is gone for good! They'd never believe that you'd leave me in pain if you could heal me!"  
  
"But I _wouldn't_ — we don't even know if I can or not!" she protested.  
  
"Rapunzel, listen to me: these injuries _will_ heal, and I can live with them in the meantime. What I _cannot_ live with is the constant fear of losing you again. So the best way you can make me feel better is to never test your power. Accept that it's gone — for my sake, for your sake, for the sake of your parents, and the sake of everyone in this kingdom who prayed for your safe return. None of us are Gothel — we don't want your power, we want _you_." And, ignoring the screaming pain, he reached out and pulled her close, holding her tightly. "Besides, just being with you makes me feel better," he told her, and it was the truth: as she relaxed into his embrace, his pain ebbed into to a dull, faraway ache.  
  
Soon, their breathing lulled each other to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a thing for rope burn as an injury in hurt/comfort stories. If you've never had rope burn, let me assure you that it is *very* painful. My writing muse, Maer, is a sadist, what can I say? XD
> 
> You may have noted that, at the end of the film, Eugene talked about Rapunzel's reign only, despite mentioning that they marry. When an inheriting ruler is a queen, it's typical for her husband to be called something like Prince Consort, not King. Tecnically, when the inheriting ruler is a king, his wife is the Queen Consort. Consorts, while they have stately duties and are generally obeyed by the household, typically have no true governly powers -- though they can and often do influence the realm through their spouses. Anyway, I wager that anything Linfred has to teach Eugene about running a country will still be useful, even if Eugene never has any true power.
> 
> Dr Marcoh is named after a doctor character from _Fullmetal Alchemist_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You all know how this ends ....

Before dinner, Gregory, Linfred, and Mallie led Rapunzel and Eugene out to the balcony, to greet the masses. While Rapunzel had met many people in the town already, this was a more formal introduction — or rather, _re_ introduction. After she had her moment with the people, Linfred lightly shoved Eugene next to her, then addressed the crowd.  
  
"You may have know this man as the thief Flynn Rider, a wanted criminal, but he is that man no more. He has rescued our daughter from her captor, at great personal peril, and we will be forever in the debt of the man known henceforth as Eugene Fitzherbert!"  
  
The crowd below gave a deafening cheer, as great as the one they had given for the return of Princess Rampion. As if Eugene's arms feeling like they were on fire wasn't enough, now his face was too, as he blushed. He'd never imagined his own name — the _real_ one — would be so enthusiastically received!  
  
"And what's more," the king continued, "he helped save a young child today, suffering no small injury to himself in the process."  
  
The crowd responded with another cheer.  
  
It was odd: once, Eugene would have basked in such praise and attention — for deeds that he was _ashamed_ of _now_ , no less! Yet now, when they wanted to recognise him for deeds he _should_ be proud of, he wanted to hide, as if he were on the run for some crime. Somehow, he felt like it was a lie, that he was being praised under false pretenses, even though everything the king had said was a fact. So was this humility? He wasn't sure he liked it, if it meant that he could never enjoy his accomplishments anymore!  
  
The urge to flee vanished, though, when Rapunzel gently took his hand in hers, beaming at him, and the king placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder, granting him a look of satisfaction. That now-familiar warmth crept across him, calming him, making him ... _happy_. Making him feel ... _wanted_. Welcome. _Loved_.  
  
Okay, maybe the attention wasn't so bad after all.  
  
Looking at Rapunzel now, feeling surrounded by such joy and affection, his world couldn't be more perfect — not even if his hands were healed. "I love you," he told her, not even thinking about it first; it just felt natural. Like his whole life had been building up to this, and it was just the next step on his journey, an inevitable moment that he wouldn't have avoided even if he could.  
  
"I love you, too," she told him, smiling, then kissed him.  
  
The crowd approved.   
  
When the kiss ended, a whinny and the clapping of hooves drew Eugene and Rapunzel's attention. Glancing around at the crowd, Eugene spotted Max off to the side. "Your Majesty," he whispered, "shouldn't Maximus get some of this spotlight?"  
  
"Quite right, lad," the king agreed. "I was actually just about to call him over. _Maximus!_ "  
  
The horse, looking nonplussed, trotted over, and Rapunzel happily greeted him.  
  
"This horse, whom we call Maximus, is one of our best guard and most loyal subjects," the king told the masses. "We have him, too, to thank, both in returning our daughter and in saving that young girl today. As Captain Armbruster has announced today his decision to retire, we have decided to name Maximus as his successor. Treat him with all the respect due any human in our military."  
  
The crowd cheered, and Max looked gobsmacked.  
  
"Congratulations, Max," Eugene told him, holding out a hand.  
  
Max whinnied, bobbing his head at the wrapped hand.  
  
"Oh, right! Well, this will have to do instead," Eugene said, reaching his arms around the horse's neck and lightly hugging him. When he stepped back, he rest his forehead against Max's own for a moment. Max then lipped his hair.  
  
The sense of pleasant, loving warmth grew.   
  
———;;—@  
  
Linfred sat at the head of the dining table, of course, with Mallie to his left and Rapunzel to his right. Eugene sat to the right of Rapunzel — and Max sat to Eugene's right. People all around the table cast curious glances at the horse; Max returned the glances with challenging glares, which Eugene mirrored. No one was going to question Max's presence if he had anything to say about it. Eugene even made sure that the bowl of water and plate of apples, oats, and hay set before his friend were never empty.  
  
"Ve have very interesting dinner companion, nyet?" asked the man seated across from Eugene, some visiting dignitary named Lisitsyn, a man with a ridiculous-looking mustache, a funny, pointy beard, and a sizable bit of extra padding to him.  
  
"I have no idea what you mean," Eugene answered cooly, not deigning to meet the man's eyes.  
  
"Max, could you pass the salt?" Rapunzel asked, as if she supped with horses all the time. (Well, she did eat with a chameleon — although Pascal was keeping himself invisible at the moment.)  
  
Max picked the shaker up gingerly with his teeth and set it as close as he could to her, just in front of Eugene's plate.  
  
"Would either of you like a roll, Max, Eugene?" Mallie asked.  
  
"Yes, please," Eugene replied, Max nodding.  
  
The queen stood up and reached over, laying a roll on Max's plate. "Would you like butter on yours?" she asked Eugene.  
  
He nodded, feeling a bit odd being served by the queen. He understood why she was doing it, though: she was demonstrating to everyone at the table that he and Max were held in high regard by the crown, like family, and were to be treated as such. As he took the buttered roll gingerly in his sore fingers, Mallie closed her hand over his for a moment. He looked her in the eye and understood: her demonstration was as much for him as everyone else. If he was ever to marry Rapunzel, he needed to get used to the idea of being royalty. There it was again: if the queen could count him as worthy, then he could — and must — count himself as such.  
  
"Forgive if I offend," Lisitsyn apologised. "Is only that I never encounter horse at dinner table before — is new to me. But I like!"  
  
Eugene didn't bother to explain that it wasn't exactly normal in this kingdom either.  
  
Rapunzel lay a hand on Eugene's shoulder for a moment, then reached over and cut his meat for him. It wasn't as humiliating an experience as he'd thought it would be — something about the touch of her hand on his arm made it all bearable, so much easier to swallow his pride.  
  
Eugene felt sorry for Mallie having to sit next to the diplomat, who held his elbows out as he cut his own food, jabbing her with arms that were oddly thin for such a large fellow.  
  
"You do great zing today," the dignitary remarked. Eugene reckoned he meant "thing".  
  
"Yes, Max was a godsend," Eugene agreed, pretending Lisitsyn was talking to the horse; he averted his eyes out of bashfulness and discomfort as much as intending insult now.  
  
"You boz are," the man countered; it took Eugene a second to suss out that the man meant "both".  
  
Finally, Eugene looked Lisitsyn in the eye, exasperated. "It's what anyone would have done," he insisted. As he focused on the dignitary, he felt something crawl across his skin — not warmth this time, either.  
  
A chill of foreboding.  
  
This man was familiar. He couldn't put his finger on who exactly Lisitsyn was, but Eugene had known a lot of bad people in his time, and he was sure this man was one of them. It gnawed at Eugene, distracted him so much that it practically made him forget pain he was in. Not even the warmth of Rapunzel's touch could dispel the uneasiness that had settled into his very bones. This was important — he _had_ to figure out who this man was. So even when he caught the man staring boldly at him, time and again through the course of the meal, Eugene met his gaze just as boldly, studying the man's features.   
  
After the dinner, there was entertainment. There was a harlequin, some dancers, and a small group of musicians; amongst the last, Eugene was pleased to discover Hans at the seat of a fine-looking piano.  
  
"The piano wasn't ruined?" Eugene asked the king.  
  
"Apparently it was well packed," Linfred explained. "The legs were splintered, but easily replaced. Your friend plays quite excellently," he added.  
  
"He does," Eugene agreed, waving at Hans, who waved cheerfully back. And for another moment, the warmth chased the chill away.  
  
"Vould you like dance?" Lisitsyn soon asked Rapunzel.  
  
And just like that, the cold was back.  
  
"To be honest, my feet are killing me," Rapunzel begged off.  
  
She reached out for Eugene's hand, intertwining her fingers in his. He squeezed them gratefully, ignoring the sensation of tightness and cracking in his skin.  
  
Rapunzel looked down, lifting his hand and examining it; blood was seeping through the linen. "We should go change this," she suggested. "Begging your pardon," she told the dignitary — somewhat icily, Eugene thought.  
  
Rapunzel then caught the attention of a servant, asking that warm water be brought to Eugene's room. Eugene was struck (not for the first time, of course) by how naturally she gave commands. She was so sweet and innocent most of the time, it was almost easy to forget how she had handed his keister to him when they'd first met!  
  
She helped him to his feet, and they bid her parents and Max goodnight, surreptitiously leaving Pascal on Max's shoulder. The rest of the guests were too busy with the revelry to even notice that the objects of their celebration were leaving.  As they left, though, Eugene could feel the dignitary's cold stare on his back, even after they were out of sight. He tried to tell himself it was just the cold of the castle, it being made of stone — but for a change, he couldn't believe his own lie.  
  
———;;—@  
  
Rapunzel slowly, carefully unwrapped one of the linen bandages, letting out a small squeak of dismay when she saw the wounds. Eugene reached out with his still-wrapped hand and brushed her hair out of her eyes, then kissed her brow.  
  
"I'm okay," he promised. "You can't hurt me; just being with you makes me feel better." He bet she could run him through with a dagger, like Gothel, and it'd feel marvelous ....  
  
She lay a hand against his cheek and kissed him softly. That little spark ignited them both, the pleasant warmth becoming a slow, sensuous burn, engulfing them like a thousand lanterns.  
  
At least until there was a knock at the door.  
  
"We've brought the hot water that Her Majesty requested," came a muffled voice through the wood.  
  
Rapunzel gave Eugene another, quicker kiss, then hurried, breathless, for the door. The servant hurried in, set down the jug on the nightstand, next to the washbasin, and hurried out again, perhaps sensing he was interrupting something.  
  
Unfortunately, the moment was already lost.  
  
"I should have asked for a kettle or hot water, too -- this water's not really hot enough to make the tea Marcoh wanted you to drink," Rapunzel remarked. "Oh, look, there's a kettle in the fireplace! I'll make a fire ...."   
  
"It's too hot out for a fire," Eugene protested. It wasn't really, not with the cool stone walls of the castle all around, but he didn't want to spend one more second out of contact with her!  
  
They let the tea steep as best it could while Rapunzel returned to the task of tending his wounds. Salve coating her fingers, she slowly traced the marks left by the ropes, as if trying to burn them into her memory. She worked with amazing delicacy; he barely felt anything, save the soothing coolness of the salve — and the warmth of the love she applied it with.  
  
Despite the care she took, she was done all too quickly for Eugene's liking. Perhaps it was fortunate, then, that — despite the foul "painkiller" tea — his body suddenly reminded him that he had other injuries ....  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked as he clutched at his calf.  
  
"Leg cramp," he groaned through clenched teeth. "Could you get the clay jar off the nightstand? It's a balm or something the doc told me to rub on any sore muscles ...."  
  
Rapunzel didn't hand him the jar, though, instead scooping out a small portion of the balm onto her own fingers — just as he'd hoped she would. "Can you get your pant-leg up?" she asked.  
  
Thankfully, the pants were a bit loose; other than dealing with the usual, continuous pain in his hands and arms, he had no trouble baring his leg.  
  
"So I just rub it in, then?" she asked, reminding him that she had always had healing magic for any injuries she or Gothel ever sustained.  
  
The pain in his leg helped distract him from his lingering guilt. "Yeah, but you should press down while you apply it, like you're kneading dough, really work it into the skin," he explained.  
  
She blinked at him, puzzled. "Won't that hurt?"  
  
"Believe it or not, it'll make the muscles feel better — it's called 'massage'."  
  
"Massssaaage," she repeated, feeling the word out, then shrugged. "Okay, if you say so."  
  
She did as he suggested — and proved to have even more skill than the attendants had shown earlier! She apparently knew instinctually just how much pressure to apply, in what way and at what speed. Eugene had never been so happy to be in pain; it gave him the excuse to be touched by her, and to have her sit there longer with him ....  
  
Wait ... did that make him like Gothel?  
  
"Are you sure you aren't tired?" he asked. "I can finish this if you want to go to bed — or go back to the party."  
  
She paused in her ministrations to stare at him, eyes full of hurt, and he knew instantly he'd screwed up. "You _want_ me to go?" she asked, voice wavering a little.  
  
"No!" he assured her, taking her balm-covered hand in his — and almost let go when the cinnamon-filled medicine came on contact with his lacerated hands. Instead, he just gripped her hand harder, in absolution. "I just ... you spent eighteen years tending to Gothel's hurts. I don't want to be her replacement — I want to tend to _you!_ "  
  
She tilted her head, giving him a lop-sided smile. "Can't we tend to each other?"  
  
It was his turn to blink. "I, ah ... yeah?"  
  
"I mean, it's not like you even _asked_ me to do this — although I bet you wanted me to?" she added with a wicked gleam. "The point is, you didn't command or otherwise _expect_ me to do it. I did it because I _wanted_ to. Still do." And she went back to massaging his leg, moving down his ankle, eventually getting to his foot. "When your hands are better, maybe you could help me with _my_ feet."  
  
"You've got a deal," he promised.   
  
When she finished the one leg, she moved on to the other, then to his upper arms. Then she nearly gave him a heart attack: "Take off your shirt," she commanded.  
  
"... W-wha...?" he stammered.  
  
"So I can get your back!" she explained.  
  
"Oh ... right!" Hesitantly, he did as she commanded, wondering why he felt so bashful.  
  
She gave him a considering look, one that made him feel more naked than he was. "Lay on your stomach," she told him.  
  
He obeyed, albeit slowly, the wounds on his lower arms and hands complaining as he put his weight on them. Eventually, he was able drape his arms over the sides of the bed, so that the bed sheet no longer aggravated them. He was so focused on his pain, he nearly jolted up off the bedin surprise when he felt Rapunzel's weight (slight though it was) straddle the small of his back.  
  
She pushed his shoulders down, ordering him to hold still as she began to work the balm into his back. Soon he couldn't tell where the warmth of the balm ended and the heat of his feelings for her began.  
  
And then he couldn't tell anything at all, drifting into a gold-hazed slumber.  
  
———;;—@  
  
And so the week of celebration went: Eugene, Pascal, and Max — and either the king or queen or both — accompanied Rapunzel on her daily jaunts into the outside world, to see more of the town or even the mainland. Every night, there was a fancy dinner, then entertainment. After that, Rapunzel would ask the same servant to have water sent to Eugene's room (including a kettle for the tea; they would kiss while waiting for the items, make the tea when the water arrived, and then she would tend to Eugene's injuries until he drifted off to sleep.  
  
There were other things that were the same every day as well. For example, Pascal always stayed with Max when Rapunzel and Eugene left the dining hall. Rapunzel cut Eugene's food at every meal. Rapunzel and Eugene broke their fasts in the morning with her parents on the balcony, where Pascal and Max joined them.  
  
And at various points of the day, when at the castle, Eugene would find Lisitsyn staring at him, making Eugene feel like icewater was trickling down his spine. Max didn't seem to like the man either. Lisitsyn always sat across from Eugene at dinner, staring at him throughout, but Eugene refused to give any indication that it bothered him — at least through the meal. After dinner, though, every night, the dignitary would try to entice Rapunzel to dance. Eugene could barely keep a snarl from his lips then, his blood boiling.  
  
Thankfully, as with that first dinner, Rapunzel refused the man's advances for the subsequent five nights, claiming sore feet every time. And on the final, seventh night of the week-long celebration, Eugene was recovered enough that he felt up to taking Rapunzel out onto the dance floor himself — a fact he was very glad of, as he hated the idea of depriving her of the chance to dance at her own party. There was just one point he hadn't counted on ....   
  
"May I cut in?" Lisitsyn asked during a slow dance.  
  
The look in Rapunzel's eye said she wasn't any happier about it than Eugene was, but it would have been impolite to decline when she had demonstrated that her feet were perfectly hale — and impoliteness towards a foreign guest could lead to serious international incidents! So Eugene stood by, helpless, as the man whisked his girlfriend away when the music picked up tempo. To make matters worse, another dignitary, a woman, insisted in dancing with Eugene! He quickly lost sight of his beloved and her unwanted dance partner in the process. The dance could not end soon enough, by his reck.  
  
A lifetime later, it finally did. Eugene scoured the floor, managing to avoid any more social entanglements, even with some visiting thugs (who made it a bit harder to see the whole floor, what with their great girth and/or height), until he was stopped by one of the servants. He recognised the young man as the same one Rapunzel always asked for the water — Ancel was his name, if Eugene recalled correctly.   
  
"Her Majesty Princess Rampion wished for me to tell you that she would meet you in your room, sire."  
  
Eugene let out a sigh of relief and, giving the king, queen, Pascal, and Max a quick farewell, hurried off — only belatedly wondering at the strange looks the foursome had given him. They seemed ... puzzled, that was it! Why? Because Rapunzel was not with him? Had Rapunzel not said goodnight to them ...?  
  
He recalled the last time he'd seen her, when she was being led away in a hurried dance. His mind seemed to slow the image down, until he saw something he hadn't noticed at the time: Lisitsyn's face over Rapunzel's shoulder, lips curved in a chilling smile and a wicked gleam in his eyes. Eugene knew those eyes.  
  
He _remembered_.  
  
Fear seized him, and he raced to his room, ignoring the screaming of his still-recovering calves as he ran. He yelled for the guards, but saw no one. When he reached the corridor that his and the royal family's rooms were down, though, he slowed and silenced himself. It wouldn't do to alert the enemy! It occurred to him then that he could really use a _weapon_. Pondering for a moment, he padded over to Rapunzel's room, which was across from his, and snuck inside. It only took him a moment to find what he was looking for, the object in question resting on her nightstand. He hefted it, testing the weight — and almost dropped it completely as the wounds on his hand stretched and cracked. He looked about and spotted a handkerchief on the dressing table; wrapping it around his right hand, he grabbed up his weapon again and set out for his own room.  
  
"Hello, Reynard," he greeted his mentor upon opening the door. A look around the room revealed no sign of Rapunzel.  
  
"I wondered if you'd figured it out," the man remarked, peeling off his fake facial hair; he'd already removed the padding that made him look far heavier than he was, no longer kept his chin tucked in so that it was doubled, and no longer purposefully distorted his face. He was dressed in the clothes of a servant, the usual jug of water waiting on the nightstand, beside the washbasin and Eugene's medications. So that was how he'd gotten past the guards at the end of the corridor ....  
  
"Where is Rapunzel?" Eugene growled.  
  
"As if I would tell you just like that, when it's clear that the lack of that knowledge on your part is the only thing keeping me alive right now." Reynard glanced at Eugene's weapon, his lip twitching.  
  
"How _is_ it that you're alive?" Eugene wondered aloud. The man had been tossed overboard several miles out from any shore!  
  
"As luck would have it, I was fished out by the ship of a noblewoman," Reynard revealed. "She nursed me back to health herself, then married me. A few years later, she, ah ... _passed on_ , leaving me her sole heir. I've been living in luxury for many years, but alas, the money is running low. But word of my old protégé, Flynn Rider, reached me, and I thought I'd see how he was doing," Reynard finished with a sly grin.  
  
Flynn's mentor walked around the room, nodding appreciatively. "And you're doing well, it seems — this is a pretty sweet deal you have going on here. Pretending to be a hero, so the grateful parents of the princess would keep you in the lap of luxury. Where did you find the girl, anyway? She's a brilliant actress!"  
  
Eugene tightened his grip around his weapon in his fury — and did not drop it even as his hand blossomed into pain again. "The only pretender in this castle is _you!_ " he spat.  
  
"Oh, I beg to differ, boy — like father, like son, they say!"  
  
"What has that to do with us? You fancy yourself my father because you taught me your trade?" Eugene scoffed.  
  
"No, I fancy myself your father because I _am_. I paid Hephzibah well to remain true to me."  
  
Eugene felt like he was standing on a rocking wooden deck rather than the solid stone of the castle floor. His mother's name had indeed been Hephzibah, but how could Reynard have known that? No one at the orphanage had known, and the landlady who'd dropped him there had been dead herself for years!  
  
Could it be ...?   
  
"Granted, what with your mother's ... _line of work_ , shall we say, I couldn't be sure at first that you were mine, but it became clear quickly enough." Reynard walked over to Eugene's dressing table, looking into the mirror. "Perhaps her blood spoiled your looks some, but the resemblance is there. See for yourself!"  
  
Eugene broke out in a cold sweat. Reluctantly, he took a few steps forward, just enough to see himself in the mirror alongside Reynard.  
  
It was true. And if Eugene needed confirmation still ....  
  
"Of course, I had Anne's word for it, too. You remember Anne, yes? The landlady who took you to the orphanage? I paid her to keep an eye on your mother — and you, once you were born. I also paid her to slowly poison your mother, making it look like an illness."  
  
There was that rocking-deck sensation again. He swallowed back bile, sickened to learn that he shared the blood of a murderer — the murderer of his mother, no less. " _Why?_ " Eugene asked, resisting the urge to strike the man; he wanted information first. There would be plenty of time to pummel the man after that.  
  
"Well, it wouldn't do to have someone who could connect you to me, even if your silly little twit of a mother thought I was just a soldier. I have enemies, you know."  
  
"You did it to _protect_ me?" Eugene scoffed.  
  
"To protect my investment, yes. Killed the landlady, too, of course, since she was the last one who could connect you to me."  
  
Eugene wondered how many others the man had murdered — besides the ones Eugene had _already_ known of — but there was a more pressing question at that moment. "Back up a minute — what do you mean, 'investment'?"  
  
"Well, it was something of a shot in the dark, of course, but I'd hoped that a child of mine might share my skills, enough to keep me supported when old age steals them from me. Obviously my gamble paid off! Now, my boy, let's get down to business, shall we? Besides convincing the king to make me a permanent guest, you will acquire for me anything I ask for." Reynard studied his nails as he spoke, as if they were making idle conversation.  
  
"And why should I do that?" Eugene asked through his teeth, still trying not to be sick. Was this why he'd become such an excellent thief? Heredity? Could he escape it, or would any potential child of his suffer likewise from a larcenous compulsion?  
  
"You mean aside from the fact that I'm your _father?_ "  
  
"You may have _sired_ me, but that doesn't make you my dad," Eugene replied, lip curling in disgust.  
  
"No? All right then, how about the fact that you left me to _die_ in that water? You owe me a cut for all that loot you went off with!"  
  
"You got yourself into that situation, and the deal was that I would pay you while _training_. I'm long past needing a teacher!"  
  
"Oh, are you now? Well how about I reveal to the king and queen your plan to pass off some peasant girl as their daughter?"  
  
"They wouldn't believe you!" Eugene countered, bemused and completely confident of the royal family's faith in him; he had the same faith in them, after all. Besides, Reynard seemed to have failed to miss the resemblance Rapunzel bore to her parents — probably because the man had focused all of his attention on Eugene!  
  
"Would they be so trusting if they knew that I was your father?" Reynard smiled evilly. "If they realised that I have been here all week, sitting across from you, yet you said _nothing_?"  
  
Immediately, Eugene remembered his conversation with the king, just after he'd returned from the docks ....  
  
 _"But ... I-I'm a ..."  
  
"A thief? Did you think Mallie and I had forgotten? More importantly, do you think we care? We believe that you've given that life up. You've proven there's goodness in you with how you've helped our daughter — especially in how you were willing to let yourself perish for the sake of her freedom. If we didn't believe that you could be a good man for the rest of your days, we would have had you strung up rather than pardoned." The king winked, smirking. "All that matters to us is that you treat our daughter like the most precious thing on Earth — and the kingdom and its people as the second-most."   
  
"I think I can do that ...."_  
  
"Yes, they would," Eugene replied easily, not a doubt in his mind.  
  
Reynard looked baffled, obviously having expected that gambit to work.  
  
"See, your problem, Reynard, is that you've never known what it's like to trust and be trusted — to love and be loved." Eugene shook his head, almost pitying the man. He began slowly pacing around Reynard. "Go ahead and tell them. They'll ask me my side, and I'll tell them that I had this nagging feeling that I knew you but couldn't place from where, and that will be that. Oh, except that you'll be _arrested_. Did you think I'd miss that part? I'm calling your bluff. Sure, you _might_ escape after your little revelation, but I know you, Reynard; you'd never put yourself at risk in the first place. _Me_ , on the other hand, well ... I'm not so like you as you think. I have something in my life worth risking it for now: a family!"  
  
And with the very lightning-quick movements Reynard had trained him to have, Eugene whacked the man over the head with his weapon: Rapunzel's frying pan.  
  
"Eugene!"  
  
He found Rapunzel standing in the doorway, eyes wide. He had a split second of relief, seeing that she was alive and well, before he realised that having an unconscious dignitary in his room probably didn't look too good.  
  
Rapunzel hurried into the room just then, throwing her arms around him, her parents and Max filing in behind her, Pascal riding on the horse's head. Behind them, several guards stormed in, heading for Reynard, but aside from relief that the guards weren't arresting Eugene for attacking a dignitary, Eugene hardly noticed them.  
  
"I'm so glad you're all right!" Rapunzel told his chest.  
  
He held her back so tight he lifted her off the ground, swinging her in a circle. Then what she'd said registered, and he set her down gently to ask, "You thought I was in trouble?"  
  
She nodded. "When that dance was over, I spotted Ancel and told him to send the water up, figuring to use it as an excuse to leave Lisitsyn. I started to look for you, but just after that, I ran into some guys from the Ugly Duckling, and I didn't want to be rude. When I finally got away from _them_ , I found my parents at the table and asked if they'd seen you. They told me you'd already said goodnight. Ancel overheard us, and revealed that he'd passed on Lisitsyn's message that I'd meet you in your room — but I'd never said any such thing."  
  
"At that point," Linfred took up the story, "Gregory reported that a servant had been found dead in a hallway, with his livery stolen — the same servant that Ancel had apparently passed the water to after Lisitsyn told him he needed to find you and give you a message." Linfred revealed.  
  
Eugene felt like he'd been stabbed, hearing that someone had died because of Reynard's plans for him.  
  
"It wasn't too hard to figure out then that the man had laid a trap for you," Linfred continued. "I'm so sorry, son. I'd noticed how the man kept watching you, but I ... well, I shrugged it off as hero-worship. I should have looked into things more, but he came with a very genuine-looking letter of introduction from a king who has long been a friend of mine ...."  
  
"It's all right, Your Highness; I should have mentioned my own bad feeling about him to _you_. If it makes you feel any better, I think it far more likely that he _stole_ that letter, than that your friend sent an enemy to you visit you."  
  
"He looks much different," Mallie noted, peering down at the man, who was now pinned to the floor by Max's posterior. "Is this really Lisitsyn?"  
  
"Yes and no," Eugene began, and launched into the story of the man's true identity — including the fact that he was Eugene's father.  
  
"You're sure?" Rapunzel asked.  
  
"Yeah — the fact that he knew my mother's name pretty much cinches it. See, I'd introduced myself to him as Flynn Rider back then, not Eugene Fitzherbert. Even if he somehow investigated me after we announced my real name to the world, and he managed to find out what orphanage I was from, the people at the orphanage didn't know my _mother's_ name, and the landlady who dropped me off there is long dead — thanks, apparently, to him. Besides," he added uncomfortably, "there is a definite resemblance."  
  
Rapunzel joined her mother, studying the legendary thief. Eugene wanted to pull her away, fearing the man would awaken and abscond with her, even with Max sitting on him. But he knew he was being paranoid, and so let her be.  
  
Finally, Rapunzel stepped back. "I don't see it," she announced. "You're _much_ better looking."   
  
Well, of course she deserved a kiss for that. (It didn't last long, though, what with her parents watching.)  
  
"What do you want to do about him?" Linfred asked, pointing to Reynard.  
  
Eugene was perplexed. "What do _I_ want to do?"  
  
Linfred nodded. "You were the one he wronged, and he's your father; I leave the decision to you."  
  
Eugene thought about it for a long moment. He'd be a liar if he said that part of him didn't want the man dead — and really, since Reynard was a murderer, it was an apt sentence, especially since there was every indication that the man would commit more crimes if set free. Reynard might have been his father by blood, but certainly not by action — killing his mother, leaving him in an orphanage — so there were no grounds to pardon him there ... and yet Eugene couldn't bring himself to say the words that would end the man's life.  
  
He remembered something the king had said to him: _"Besides, my boy, what do you think the purpose of punishment is? Revenge? No._ "  
  
Eugene realised that he agreed, wholeheartedly. He was beyond relieved to discover that, unlike his father, _he_ was not a killer.  
  
But there was still the problem of what to _do_ with the man. He really didn't want the thief anywhere near the castle — or the kingdom, for that matter!  
  
And then Eugene got an idea ....  
  
"Sire, you know how you told me that this kingdom's alliances were based on friendship?"  
  
Looking puzzled, Linfred nodded.  
  
"So let's look at who we could use a stronger alliance with, and see if Reynard's on their 'Most Wanted' list."  
  
The king grinned approvingly. "You, lad, are going to do just fine in this world."  
  
Eugene felt a prickle of pride go up his spine, dispelling the cold that Reynard had put there. "Hey, Max! You mind putting out the trash, old buddy?" he asked, pointing to Reynard.  
  
The horse whickered a horsey laugh, nodding. Max stood up, grabbed Reynard by the back of his shirt, and dragged the well-bound man out the door. Pascal, sitting in the horse's mane, seemed to be directing the guards, who followed after them.  
  
"I'll go look into where to send our 'guest' next," Linfred said. "I don't want him here any longer than he needs to be."  
  
"Let me help you with that," Mallie suggested, winking at Eugene as they departed his room.  
  
 _Alone, at last!_  
  
"You're bleeding again!" Rapunzel admonished, holding up his hand, showing the wound he'd reopened in his encounter with Reynard.  
  
Eugene smiled fondly at his ladylove, ready to let Rapunzel look after him the way he intended to look after her. In fact ....  
  
"How are your feet?" he asked.

~FINIS~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can probably guess that, in my head, Eugene's mother was a … lady of the night, so to speak. ;) Reynard was inspired in part by Reynard the Fox, which I heard about in a biography of Walt Disney. He wanted to do an animated version of this (good) fox-thief's story, but ended up morphing it into Robin Hood instead. Lisitsyn is a Russian surname meaning "Fox".
> 
> As per usual, this fic started out as a little hurt/comfort seed (the rope-burn scenario) that blossomed a little out of control, the story turning out much longer and more involved than I imagined it would! And the seed it started with is rather different from how I imagined it. XD I hadn't even planned the whole Reynard thing -- it just kind of happened as I was writing it. Basically, I wanted to a) explore how exactly Rapunzel and Eugene revealed that she was the lost princess, b) ruminate on the difficulties Eugene might have in accepting/acclimating his new life's path, c) play with Eugene & Max's new-found friendship, d) give us a chance to get to know Rapunzel's parents, e) enjoy Eugene and Rapunzel's romance, f) explore Eugene's history, the story he refused to talk about, & g) (thanks to the scene with the king hugging Eugene in the group hug) explore how the king could be the father figure Eugene never had -- and how Eugene could be the son the king never had!

**Author's Note:**

> If you've enjoyed my writing, I invite you to explore my original fantasy storyverse, [Gaiankind](http://gaiankind.com)! You can even find Gaiankind stories for free [here](http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Gaiankind) on AO3!


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